The Booth in the Birch
by aorangeinboston
Summary: The Jeffersonian's newest case starts off with some decomposed bodies hanging in a tree. Starts as a a normal case. But what happens after they identify a victim isn't normal. Booth's past starts to walk back into his life and no one knows whats going to come next. DISCONTINUED.
1. Crime Scene in the Birch

Disclaimer: I do not own Bones, its characters or original plot.

_Going through a major editing process right now. _

Edited May 27, 2011_  
_

* * *

"Man, you're sure no one lives here?" Sounded a very worried and prepubescent voice that seemed to originate from a shadowy thicket of woods.

"Come on, you know no one's lived up here since the 50's. We just need like two more shots with an unoccupied house and we'll finish the assignment!" A much more mature sounding and looking boy tripped out of the woods with a camera tripod leaned against his shoulder. The weaker child came stumbling out behind him holding a video camera in his hand, the red recording light shining bright in the twilight.

Panning to his best friend beside him, he zoomed in on the large formation of zits on the northern side of the boy's face. The boy was thankful that his underdevelopment granted him clear skin, but he did wish the more desirable aspects of puberty would come along.

"Can you get that out of my face man? We really have to stop fooling around. We only have, like, twenty minutes of light left then we need to get back."

The larger boy swiped his hand at the camera, causing the weaker boy to spin and accidentally hit the zoom. The camera's view captured a large tree on the side of the property. Zooming up to14x he could see something swinging. He figured it might be some sort of game meat that someone strung up – he wouldn't put it past the folks in their area to do something like that. However, something about that meat seemed different: it didn't have fur and the flesh underneath wasn't pink. It looked burned. Bringing his camera clad hand down he squinted to see further into the tree. In the background his friend was babbling about camera shots. As he walked farther away from the source of the babbling, all he could focus on was the ominous creaking of the rope holding the unusually blackened meat.

The larger boy suddenly noticed he was standing alone and turned to find his camera man completely ignoring him, staring at a tree.

"Hey nerd!"

Upon receiving no reply, he moved towards the smaller boy.

"Hey!" He called out.

Then his ears were assaulted by a blood-curdling scream.

* * *

Temperance Brennan slammed the passenger door shut in tired frustration. As she crawled into bed the previous night, she didn't envision being awoken at two in the morning with news of a new case. Her partner, Seeley Booth, had been trying to make her laugh during the ride down, but it hadn't worked. She wondered if any of the jokes he tried on her actually made others laugh. Redirecting her thoughts, she focused on the scene before her. She saw Cam and a few crime scene techs, but no remains. She also noted Sweets speaking with two teenage boys whom she presumed had found the bodies.

"Why is Sweets here?" Booth questioned, his tone suggesting he didn't have the patience to endure a psychologist's presence at the moment.

"It's about how the bodies where found." Cam replied.

"But the bodies were found in a – wait, did you say bodies?"

"Yes. Two high school students discovered the remains of several corpses in advanced stages of decomposition in a tree." As Booth came to terms with the amount of work ahead of him and his partner, Brennan joined her team.

"Cam, am I needed here?"

"Two sets of remains are almost completely skeletal. I figured you'd like to take a look at them before I sent them to the Jeffersonian." Cam said as she carefully adjusted the body of a barely decomposed victim, most likely the most recent woman to go missing.

"Actually Cam, I think I'll wait until the remains are at the lab. I really wish you simply would have told Booth the conditions of the victims before we came all this way."

Cam shrugged. "Sorry, you usually like to examine the remains in their…natural habitat."

Brennan nodded in understanding. "Though I am accustomed to sleep deprivation, if it isn't necessary, I'd prefer to avoid it. My assessments can wait." She turned to Booth, "Okay, take me home now."

"Bones, we just got here. Don't you at least want to look at the bodies?"

"No. I work best once I've gotten enough sleep, which I haven't yet." She raised her eyebrows as she turned on her heel, "Let's go." She yelled over her shoulder while making her way to the car they had so recently vacated.

"Geez Bones." Booth groaned, slowly trailing after her.

Digging in her seemingly bottomless bag, Temperance searched for her cell phone. Pushing her arm in a little bit deeper she finally found it and punched in a number from her speed dial.

"Wendell, take x-rays of the victims teeth. Once Cam gets DNA, run it through the databases. And don't let Angela touch the skull until I get the chance to examine it."

"Yes, Dr. Brennan." Wendell replied.

"I'm going to get some more sleep, but I'll be in soon."

She hung up leaving him awkwardly left with a dial tone. "Okay, see you later, Dr. Brennan."

* * *

Head in hand; elbow on table, Wendell's position gave something away. He was very bored. The DNA samples for the first victim where still being run and he had finished x-raying all of the victims' teeth. Finally one of the databases registered a hit.

"Holy...Hodgins! Hodgins, you're not gonna believe this!"

* * *

Booth and Brennan entered the Jeffersonian, hopeful that the DNA match would simplify the case. As they walked into Angela's office, they saw the "squints" standing around the computer screen.

"That the victim?" Booth asked, tilting his head slightly towards the screen from his place in the doorway.

"Woah! Way to sneak up on us. But yeah, it is." Angela smiled awkwardly and Booth sensed that the team was hiding something.

"So, what can you tell me?"

"Well. We got a match - "

"I can see that." Booth scoffed.

"Her name is Keira."

"And…" Dragging out the climatic find of the first victim's identity wasn't really going to make the case go by any faster.

Unlike her usual demeanor Angela struggled with her choice of words. "Well, Booth, you…uh, you have the same last name."


	2. Nothing About It

_Again edited May 29 2011._

* * *

"But I thought Booth only had one sibling?" Hodgins was racking his head for answers.

"And he does, Hodgins this is just a coincidence, not some big conspiracy. But I'm sure you'll make it that." Cam was bent over the victim's body, where she was scraping samples of intact tissue.

"Oh Cam you know me to well." Just then Booth and Brennan walked out of Angela's office and continued out of the lab.

Angela scanned her badge as she joined the rest of the time arriving with more gossip that would only fuel Hodgins even more, "Booth says that Booth is just a popular name."

"Pshaw." Hodgins said as he rolled his eyes and walked over to his station, looking for something to do.

"They look alike." Cam turned to see Angela watching her intently.

"Who?"

"Booth and the victim," Angela swallowed, "They share the same face." She turned her sketch pad to face Cam, she was just beginning to start developing more details to the basic facial structure.

"Angela it's just a coincidence. We're all getting paranoid by spending too much time with Hodgins."

"That's what you want to believe Cam..." she paused and put her hand to her mouth "Oh my god, I am starting to sound like him." she walked away with a stunned look on her face.

Cam smiled and shook her head as she bent over the victim again.

* * *

"So where are we going?" Brennan asked as she watched the highway rush by.

"Talking to the victim's family, they said that her mother and her daughter live nearby."

"Where?"

"Glenn Dale, Maryland in the U.S of A." he had a tiny smirk on his face knowing that "U.S of A" would bug his partner.

"Booth I know where we are."

"Just checking." he smiled, he seemed to be in that same annoying mood now.

"Yup." she turned to look out the window.

After a few moments of looking back at his partner he decided that there was something other than his geography joke that was bugging his Bones.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing."

"Everybody knows that you are a terrible liar Bones."

"Nothing is the matter Booth." she over stressed his name. She got the nickname thing meant friendship but really even now he still called her that.

"Is it the name thing?"

"Kind of."

"This is just a coincidence. Nothing more about it, we share a last name. Nothing more and nothing less."

"Okay." she nodded, Booth feeling that he wouldn't get anything else out of her dropped the subject.

* * *

The FBI issued black SUV parked outside of the bungalow in 2.5 kid's type of neighborhood; the afternoon's rain shower had stopped but the overcast was still holding strong and threatening another downpour. Closing their car doors the anthropologist and the agent walked up the small pathway to the door. Pushing the handle down to the storm door and reaching to the inner door Booth almost had his hand on it, though it was thrown open by a teenage girl.

"Um..." She looked up and down at Seeley, taking a step back inside the doorway.

"Hi..." Seeley looked a bit startled.

Temperance stood back watching. This had to be the victim's daughter; they shared the same heart shaped face, similar heights, the girl being slightly taller. Keira's hair was a bit browner then the girls, but their eyes were an extremely similar blue-gray.

"And you are?" the girl asked looking from Seeley to Temperance.

"I'm with the FBI Agent Seeley Booth."

"I thought you guys were 'special agents'?" the girl asked with slight sarcasm in her voice.

Seeley laughed but returned to his business tone, "We're looking for the relatives of Keira Booth, specifically her daughter Alis." Seeley unknowingly mispronounced the girl's name as Ah-leese.

"I'm Ailis her daughter," Ailis stressed the pronunciation, like the normal Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland. "Grammy isn't here she won't be back for awhile.."

"Ailis?"

"Aah-li-ce." she pronounced, obviously this type of situation happened a lot.

"Oh could we talk to you?"

"Um. Wait can I just see your badge again?"

"Good kid." she gave him an eye roll and took his badge and after a few moments returned it and held the door open. The house was a mixture of styles, the young bright colors clashing with the classical taste and furniture of an older member of the community. A boy of around 16 sat; well it was more of a slump position, on the couch. The boy's eyes followed Seeley and then shifted to Temperance.

"Conner, Feds. Feds, Conner." she introduced.

"Really?"

"What?"

"Feds?" Seeley's eyebrows cocked.

"Well its not like Conner is going to be staying for this anyways so..." Conner looked at the group and then he made an 'oh' face, realizing the statement was his cue to leave, which he stood in an awkward silence, muttered a nice to meet you and bye to Ailis and left.

"So um you want to talk about my mom why?" the teen walked around the room picking up random items and setting them on tables and couch, not really cleaning the room but making it somewhat easier to move in.

"Well, our investigation has led us to her disappearance."

Ailis stopped when she said this and look at Seeley, "What's your investigation?"

"We're investigating what appear to be a serial killer's victims."

"Oh." Ailis nodded and started to resume picking up things, though she did it much slower, processing the information she had just been hit with.

"Where is your grandmother?" Seeley inquired, she might be at work.

"Chemo. She has ACT, it affects your thyroid." standing up straight again the girl turned back to Seeley and Brennan.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." In his people-person way Seeley shared his condolences.

Ailis crossed her arms over her chest, "Thanks. Are you going to ask any questions?"

"Yea. Sorry, sorry. When did you last see your mother?"

"September 2008, she was going out to do a few errands in DC. She didn't come home, and the police who originally investigated it said that she never actually made it into town."

"Around the time of her disappearance what was your mother's appearance like?" Unlike Seeley, Brennan didn't require a notebook to remember the information she was being fed.

"She had just lost some weight. So she was skinnier than her license picture. Um, brown hair..." she answered, Seeley scribed the information down in an FBI version of chicken scratch.

"Had she ever broken a bone or been injured?" this was Bones speaking, she needed to know what exactly could identify a victim, even a healed fracture could turn a case around.

"We were in a car accident when I was eight, she broke her left wrist and I dislocated my arm."

"Thanks." Brennan nodded.

"Ailis when will your grandmother be home?" Seeley looked around the house, as if maybe at any moment an elderly woman would walk in from the kitchen.

"Um, the nurse should be driving her home in an hour."

"Oh." he nodded.

"Um, I actually have to go and I kicked out my ride so…" Ailis motioned to the front door. Of course talking to a most likely shocked and grieving teenager about her mother's disappearance, though Brennan could see that Seeley was wavering. The mix between the name "coincidence" and the fact that he just had to deliver this news to a kid.

"I'm sorry. Well can you give your grandmother my card and have her call me. My partner and I need to have an interview with the two of you."

"Oh, okay." copying Seeley's earlier movement, Ailis nodded.

"We'll be leaving." Seeley turned, to Temperance he seemed to be a bit out of it.

The group moved towards the door, Temperance leading the way out the door and over to the car. Though Seeley had turned towards Ailis and handed her his card, "I would appreciate if you guys could make it in as soon as possible."

"We'll try. She's sick." Ailis looked up at him, a slightly "What the hell look" radiating from her eyes.

"Thanks." He stepped away and turned, the door slamming behind him.

* * *

It took a few minutes for Ailis to realize why the five minute conversation had affected her; yeah the part about her missing mother, who she considered to be dead more than just simply missing, but there was something else. It had made her stop from making the house seem somewhat acceptable before her grandmother came home. Putting down Conner's halfway empty chip bowl and she walked over to the side table that she had put the card. It had the normal contact information, where he was in the FBI hierarchy and his name.

HIS NAME!

That's what it was, Booth! He was a Booth! Wow, Booth wasn't that much of a common name, especially after the reconstruction era. But it wasn't anybody she knew. Ailis only had two, well what she considered to only be one other person on the Booth side of her genes, and that was her Grammy. So it wasn't going to be any cousin out of the blue. Yup, just a coincky-dink. That's all. She was sure of it nothing more than that. She put the card back onto the where Grammy's medication was laid out in order and grams along with the bills, it wasn't that big of a deal, it was just another Booth.


	3. You Were Kind of Wrong

_ALSO FORGOT TO SAY:_

_i do not own bones or any of its characters, Paige, Keira, Ailis and Conner are my own OCs. But I wish they were on the show and I had help from professionals to make my story better. which to make better I need reviews!  
_

_~meg_

_1/01/11  
_

**

* * *

**

She loved Jack but she swore that he was rubbing off on her too much. _Gosh, the crazy conspiracy story of Booth's sister being in the lab was really well fanatical_. This situation already happened with Temperance's mother it couldn't happen twice with the same group of people, it couldn't. _Booth was right it was just a common name. That's all they shared, just a name_. Angela started to shift through random loose papers on her desk all while the possibilities of this body being her Booth's brother or sister Booth ran around. _No. No. No! This isn't a Booth, Booth! They just have the same name!_ She didn't really believe her thoughts and she quickly maneuvered through the supposed victim's information. Date of Birth, Medical History, Parents. That's what I need. Scrolling over she saw that there was only one parent on the birth certificate, Paige Booth. Only one, in the 70's, weird wasn't that the era where every single teen parent left their kid at an orphanage? _Cam will put this to rest._

"Cam, whats Booth's mom's name?"

"Why?" Cam didn't want to look up, the lab had become a rumor mill in the last two hours since Booth had left.

"Just wonderin'." _Just act innocent_, Angela thought as she gave a small smile.

"Why?" This controlled hysteria was starting to annoy her, Cam now actually missed the days in high school were people openly gossiped.

"Just checkin' somethin'." Gosh! More innocent, church dress, blond braids and Mary Jane innocent!

"Why?" To Cam this was suspicious. Angela had a computer and a lot of hacking tools at her disposal she could always look something she wanted up.

"Seeing if the victim and Booth have the same mother." _God she is good._

"Paige." This had to be the blow that killed the gossip monster; Cam wanted the whispering to end.

"What?" _No way! Wait no way!_

"Seeley's mother's name is Paige." She had stabbed the gossip beast in the chest and had twisted the blade.

"Crap."

"What?" Now she wanted the information.

"It's a Booth, they're both Booths." Angela's curls shook as the few pieces of information began to fit together.

"What are you saying?"

"The victim's mother is a Paige, a Paige Booth." _Jack rubbing off on me isn't so bad_, she thought.

"Crap." The color from Cam's face drained as she rushed to a standing position, knocking over a tray of instruments and almost dropping a tube of evidence to the floor.

* * *

"So when are we going to go talk to the mother?" It hadn't actually rained, some of the clouds had broken a few streaks of sun burst threw, giving the road a bit of glare in the March light.

"Well when she comes back from chemo." It was a bit obvious, especially for someone with a Doctorate.

"It depends on her side affects though. Chemotherapy depresses the immune system and she could easily be infected."

"I think that's common knowledge."

"Yes, but it's a factor for interviewing her and the daughter."

"Ailis."

"Yes. The daughter."

"What's ATP?" With the chemo it had to be a cancer. Ailis said it had to do with the thyroid, and all he knew was that it was hormoney there.

"Anaplastic thyroid cancer, which is usually only found in individuals sixty years or older and is extremely aggressive." she sounded like a pamphlet at an oncologist's office.

"Does she have a good chance?"

"If it was caught early enough. But usually not many patients live a year after diagnosis. But the chemotherapy could also affect her health and make the situation worse."

"Oh." Seeley swallowed and his heart started to send waves of sympathy out too Ailis. No mother and most likely no grandmother to take care of her. He decided needed pie, and he could try to get Temperance to eat it. Everyone should like pie. So he started to take the exits that would get them to the diner and pie faster. Though when they both had become comfortable with the silence Temperance's phone rang, the I.D. saying it was Cam.

"Cam?"

"Get Booth in here now." the Pathologist decreed.

"Booth go to the Jeffersonian."

"What about pie though? Pie first then Jeffersonian." He whined looking over from the road for a brief moment.

"Booth wants to get pie." Temperance slouched slightly as she realized she was becoming a negotiator.

"Tell him no pie. He needs to come in here now."

"Cam says now." She looked over at Seeley.

"Bones let me talk to her."

"What no, your driving Booth." Leaning over at a stoplight he made a grab for the phone Temperance trying to keep it out of his reach. In the middle of the struggle the 'speaker' button had been pressed and Cam's annoyed and stern tone was heard through the small cabin;

"Booth get in here now. Screw pie; get to the Jeffersonian as fast as you can though within the legal speed limit." Both Bones and Booth straightened themselves out while Cam clicked the end button on her part of the line.

"How are we going to tell him this? You can't just be forward and say 'hey the victim's your sister and your moms alive and you have a niece.'" Angela was pacing inside her office where the only victim the 'squints' had been really paying attention to information page was on the large screen, links to Paige and Seeley Booth's information on the top of tool bar.

"We'll do it subtly and calmly. Break it gently. Have sympathy to his sudden loss of his sister and the finding of his mother." Sweets was calmly looking over Keira Booth's case file and sitting on one of Angela's chairs.

"Sweets being like that is what aggravates Booth the most about you. You're a softy, you and your psychology." Hodgins called out as he twiddled his thumbs.

"Well let's go with Angela's plan then and just add a 'surprise!' at the end with a few handfuls of glitter and a banner." Sweets said in an aggravated and sarcastic tone.

"That wasn't a suggestion!" Angela called from where she stopped in her pacing next to Hodgins.

"Really? I thought we were all respected members of our scientific fields." Cam called from the door frame where she was waiting for Booth and Brennan. "We just have to take it slow and not hide anything and I mean anything from him." She turned and walked into the middle of the group of the scientist and an artist, with her back to the door, "Telling him as soon as we found out is a good move and it'll make the process easier on him. I kind of have an idea of how Seeley will react to this."

"React to what?"

"Shit." Angela said under her breath as Booth walked into the office, Brennan a few steps behind him with an open manila folder in her hands.

"Well..."

"Well what? New evidence, possibly an idea of a suspect from you Sweets?" His face held a small joking smirk.

"No. Remember how you and the victim have the same last name..." Cam started.

"And I told you guys to drop the subject..." Seeley began.

"Well. It isn't as easy as you want it to be." Hodgins said as he looked down, away from his friends eyes.

"What, we're cousins or something?" Seeley had a small laugh.

"No. Something a little closer." Cam said in a small voice.

"Like what?" His voice twisted into a serious tone.

"You and Keira are siblings. You have the same mother and blood type." This was where Cam took a deep breathe and swallowed.

"What?" he had rushed over to Cam who was holding papers with what to him looked like this evidence. "How do you know?"

"We tested your DNA with hers when Angela first saw that you and Keira's mother had the same name. The preliminary tests show that you two are related."

"So Keira's mother... the person we were going to interview..." he trailed off.

"Is your mother." Cam didn't look into his eyes, avoiding the wild gaze they held.

"No."

"What."

"No. It can't be her." Booth started to slowly rub his hand over his head as he started to back up.

"Agent Booth..." This is where I need to step in; they just blew this intervention to hell. Sweets put his hands up in a surrender fashion and started to shuffle towards Booth.

"Sweets I swear if you want to keep your head I advise that you shut up." the voice was only slightly below a yell and Sweets shrunk back down to his earlier sitting position.

"Seeley. Can we..."

"No I have to go talk to her."

"Seeley. Seeley! Seeley!" Though he was already rushing through the lab, followed by angry glares of interns and sympathetic ones from the four scientists he spent most of his time with.

* * *

_Leaving_  
_May not be coming home_  
_To know I'm not alone_  
_Even_  
_Though I can't feel a thing_  


* * *

How long had she been there, it was practically right down the street from him, freakin' Glenn Dale, Maryland in the gold old U.S of A. His own mother, the women who left him and his brother in the hands of their father. She left and had another kid, who probably grew up with a better life than him, besides the whole being killed by a serial killer thing. But she was still in some odd way back in his life. After 33 years she was back, not exactly for him but she was still back. Hitting the steering wheel, frustration built up in him. He knew why she had left. Of course even if it was before he had become the new victim, he saw the bruises on her arms and legs, her face rarely. But leaving her children with him, sheep for the slaughter.

Seeley had looked for her. Unsuccessfully. Would she have contacted him if any of this happened? Did she want him back in his life? Well now she was back in his life. Back with Cancer. Cancer that she was most likely going to die from if the chemo infections didn't get to her first. Where was she? Pulling back onto the road. He knew what he had to do.

He was at the exit that led to the neighborhood where his mother and Ailis lived. She had to be there, she had to be back by now. That's what Ailis had said, the nurse was driving her. As the drive down the street revealed lit up houses and shadows of families getting ready to sit down and eat dinner; slowing down by his mother's house he could see a few lights on downstairs and a lone one on up in the corner of the second story of the house. He had only been there an hour and half before but he was surprised at how dark it was. Living in D.C. he forgot that it got this dark in the winter, with all the lights and things. Right there was the house, to his left. His spot from only a few hours earlier still open. Though he wasn't going to give himself an easy escape, he needed to do this. Seeley backed into a space a few houses down and he watched, the windows, not much going on two figures moving behind the curtains was all he could make out, the taller one walking around quickly the other, who he guessed to be his mother, moving much more slowly. When the movement became less frequent he unclipped his cellphone, leaving it in the cup holder and opened the car door. Even though the cold air rushed on him he didn't move his arms to block it, his concentration was more on making his way to the door that now terrified him.

The stairs creaked and he wondered if they could hear him inside, though the lack of response told him to continue on. Next was to walk to the door, which he did but in a much slower matter. And now the knock. He didn't do it before, Ailis had thrown the door open, how would it sound, would they hear him inside? But trying to answer all these questions in his head was just getting around what he was really supposed to do. Knock. A breathe and some metallic sounding vibrations in the air later he had done it and inside someone shuffled to answer. This was what scared him. Facing her. 33 years later and facing his mother.

The inner wooden door opened to reveal a small later aged woman, a scarf wrapped around her head and dark circles under her eyes evidence of her chemotherapy. She looked at him for amount before speaking.

"Can I help you?" since he was eight her voice had grown different, raspier than what he remembered.

"Umm..."

"Lost?"

"No, exactly who I need to talk to..."

"You're looking for me?"

"Your Paige Booth right?" this was here. She looked the same, or similar she had aged and the treatments had taken a toll on her but she still was the same.

"Yes."

"Then you're who I'm looking for."

"And who are you?"

"I'm Seeley Booth." With that said he thought the cancer had gotten her right then and there.

* * *

_Where do I go_  
_Where do I stand_  
_Where can I find myself again_  
_Where do I go_  
_If not disappear_  
_Where do I go from here_  
-Where Do I Go From Here; Relient K

_

* * *

Review, also I'm going to try to make every like three chapters what would be in an episode, so thats why there is a little cute song in there. but of course this is a fanfiction, not the actual bones. :(_


	4. Booth Meet Booth

She stood there; she could actually feel her heart rate rise and her breathing become labored. Here he was. She had lost so many children and now he was coming back to her. Though her all the emotional things that she wanted to express to him where postponed as behind her Conner stormed down the stairs.

"Mom, Ms. B fed me and I don't have homework 'cause I got it done in study and..." at the end of the banister he caught himself as he saw Seeley "Ummm mom?"

"Hi Conner." Seeley gave him a very awkward wave as he still stood outside the screen door.

"Oh it's the fed, sorry to interrupt Ms. B thought it was my mom again."

"That's fine Conner." She turned and smiled at him, after a moment of staring at him he backed up the stairs and the skipped the last few steps to get to the landing.

* * *

"Ahh he returns. So that's not your mom?" she sat up as Conner reentered the room and kicked the door shut.

"I'm alive so that's a yes."

"I get it she doesn't like you over here this late at night. Even though its Friday." she rolled her eyes his mom was so overprotective.

"But I'm still out late in a girl's bedroom." the tone he used sounded suggestive as he flopped down on to the over sized pillow at the end of her bed.

"Oh..." Now she seemed to miss the late and in a girls bedroom.

"You're so naive." he laughed, the confused look transformed into a clarified one which caused him to laugh.

"No I just don't think like that... mind in the gutter and all." Ailis rolled her eyes and fell back onto the comforter.

"Wow, so my mom's a pervert."

"And all these thoughts about teenage sex that involves her son..." Ailis extended it out.

"Oh so now she's an incestor..." lifting her neck a bit off the bed she raised an eyebrow in response.

"Who was at the door?" she dropped it back down and played with the end of her braid.

"The fed dude."

"Really?" she stopped twisting her hair and leaned up on her elbows.

"Oh Aili why would I try and confused your tired brain?" he asked innocently, though his eyes had a laughing look in them.

"Shut up." she threw one of her food plushies at him, the side with the pizza's face on it ricocheting off the top of his head and behind him to the floor.

"It really was the fed dude. But I walked in on the awkward part of the conversation and your Grammy gave me the look..."

"I'm sure it wasn't 'the look' look."

"Well I got the message."

"Trust me if it was 'the look' you wouldn't bring it up."

"Is it really that bad?" He held onto the bars at the end of the bed sticking part of his face through.

"See you don't know what the real 'look' actually looks like!" Her hand shot up and pointed at him. "Hah. What were they talking about?"

"He was just saying his name and the usual fed stuff. You know."

"No I don't."

"Well, the stuff like on all the..." He had stopped moving onto the bed when there was a brief knock followed by Paige walking in.

"Conner, me and Ailis need to talk to the man downstairs. Would you mind having to leave?"

"No mam. I'll talk to you later Ailis." He jumped up, the startled expression on his face started to melt away as he slowly moved to leave the house for the second time that day. "Bye Ms. B"

"Bye Conner."

* * *

Downstairs as the boy rushed down Seeley saw him stop by the front door muttering to himself before he took a few deep breaths. Though his head looked up in Seeley's direction when he heard the wood under the couch creak when he adjusted himself. Conner gave an odd wave and smile combo and then rushed out of the house.

"So glad I'm not that age anymore." Seeley said.

Grammy waited until Conner was out the door she closed the door partly. Ailis was sitting up against the headboard now; she knew the look on her Grammy's face; when her mother went missing, when Grammy was diagnosed and now this.

"Yea?"

"You know the agent who is downstairs?"

"Yea."

"Who has the last name as us."

"Yea."

"Well I would like you to meet him."

"Why? I already did."

"Well we need to talk with him."

"Isn't it late for an interview?" all she really wanted to do was to lie lifelessly in bed for most of the weekend but she guessed that the federal government had other plans.

"It's not an interview."

"An informal interview."

"No something more important."

"Okay." she watched her Grammy start for the door, but when she turned to look Ailis jumped off the bed and shuffled out of the room.

There was a definite change to Ailis. She was missing the heavy boots and the hat, revealing striped sock feet and a lazy bun of auburn hair. She glanced at him before jumping onto the longer end of the sectional; followed by Paige sternly saying 'Ailis", who replied with a short "sorry". Paige returned back to her place in front of her son, on the only other piece of seating in room.

"So Ailis. We need to talk about your mother." Seeley straightened and looked to Paige for reassurance before he spoke.

"Yea."

"Well me and my partner were called in on the case because on a crime scene we found a few bodies," Seeley kept shifting he really didn't know how to say it out right that his sister, this girl's mother was dead, "one of the bodies we found was identified as your mother."

"Oh." she finally broke her gaze from the piece of artwork above his head and looked at him. She swallowed a lump that had jumped into her throat when he had started talking.

"But Lissy there's something else we have to talk about." Paige knew she would be gone in a few seconds to be by herself.

"'Kay. Shoot." She roughly rubbed her cheeks and re-adjusted her legs beneath her.

"Well, um, you know how we have the same last name Lissy? We're actually related." Ailis's eyes quickly looked between Paige and Seeley.

"How related?" said a tiny version of her voice.

"Remember I told you why you didn't have a grandfather."

"Yeah."

"Well I didn't just leave him behind I left my two other children there. Seeley is my eldest son."

There was a long moment of silence. Ailis had her eyes locked on the floor in front of her, Seeley was staring at some of the floor beneath him, his elbows propping him on his legs. When the sniffle sounded from Ailis area on the couch Paige immediately attempted to stand, pausing a moment before catching her balance. Though Ailis had stood up and muttered "be down in a bit". He looked up as she started to jump up the stairs, the sniffling that had started to become more noticeable over the past few seconds echoing in the larger space.

It had been a half hour or so since Ailis had escaped into her room. She had left Paige and Seeley staring at each other wondering what would be the appropriate thing to do next. Like in his childhood his mother suggested to start baking to turn her loved one's moods around. She had led Seeley into the kitchen where at an impressive speed combined some ingredients to make the dough for snickerdoodles.

"So. How are things been with you?"

"For the last thirty years, pretty decent."

"Oh. That's good." she looked at his hand to find something to talk about, "You aren't married."

"No."

"So only one grandchild so far." she laughed a bit from her place at the counter.

"No, I have a so Parker. He's going to be turning eight."

"Oh."

"Would you like to meet him?"

"Of course."

"I haven't told him yet."

"Well we only just told Ailis," He watched her as she moved to the oven with the tray and set the cookies inside. "Want some of the batter?"

"Sure." he hadn't done this in a long time.

"Just don't tell Lissy, she will never let it go. When her and Conner were younger I split what was left of some cookie dough between the two. Jesus, she ate most of Conner's." she put the large glass bowl before Seeley and put a small teaspoon into it.

"How long have you lived here?" he was slowly taking it in, it was beyond modest. Simplistic only what they needed, a few decorations here and there but non of the fancy cooking ware that were spread out in the kitchens of cooking shows.

"Since Lissy was a few good years. Umm probably eleven now. Rent it. Could never afford are own place."

"Yea."

"You came round earlier? Knew Conner." Paige had grabbed her own bowl and was now scooping a bit of the dough out.

"With my partner. I didn't know then that it was this Booth family."

"Who's that?"

"Booth family?"

"No. Smart ass, your partner?"

"Dr. Temperance Brennan. She's a forensic anthropologist, she mainly works at the Jeffersonian."

"I've read some of her books. My friend Rachel reads them all the time. Pretty girl."

"Rachel?"

"No, your partner."

"Oh, yea."

"You like her."

"Not like in the romantic way. But in a professional matter."

"Just proved it."

"Well I..."

"Just like Annabelle Collins, that little neighbor girl that you liked when you were little. I always knew what you were thinking."

Seeley smiled at the memory. He had gotten in trouble for pushing Annabelle. When he got inside his father wasn't there so he was spared getting a real good smack, his mother had yelled a bit but figure out at a decent rate why he had done.

"Always needed the female's attention."

In the background a voice coughed Paige and Seeley looked up and saw Ailis waiting with a spoon and bowl.

"I just came down for some of the cookie dough."

"Told you." Paige looked at Seeley who laughed. "Lissy, well I was talking to Seeley. You have a cousin."

"Whoope-di-do." came the sarcastic reply as she jumped up onto a counter.

"His name is Parker. He loves the lady that I came with earlier today."

"The Doctor?"

"Yea. Bones."

"Bones? You said that it was the other."

"No that's what I call her."

"Pet name I get it." Ailis nodded as she pulled her legs up so that she was sitting in the criss-cross apple sauce position. Paige gave a little laugh.


	5. I'm Fine

"He said he would be here." For some reason Sweets was the most nervous out of the two. Seeley had asked Temperance to meet him for lunch at the Royal Diner, and Sweets feeling he needed to analyze him had invited himself along and now they were waiting for a tardy Booth.

"He'll be here. The weather is just really bad that's why he's late." Temperance explained logically, with Seeley there was always a logical reason for the things he did.

"Yes. But."

"Sweets, he's here." His usually FBI suit was replaced by jeans and a polo, he still looked slightly professional, a little preppy but still professional.

"He is!" Sweets turned with such enthusiasm that he appeared more like if he was a young child being presented a puppy, than an FBI employee. "Booth!"

Giving no response Seeley walked closer to the group, grabbing a chair from an empty table before he loudly pushed it to the table and took a seat.

"I thought I said that I wanted to meet with Bones." his voice sounded more tired than annoyed, but the tones could be misinterpreted for each other.

"Well we we're all really worried about you Booth."

"And you could have asked Bones if I was all right after she meet with me." he bit back. They all could tell this wasn't their usual light hearted Booth, leaving Sweets to wonder if the reunification of parent and child hadn't gone well.

"Do you want me to leave?" Sweets asked fearing another outburst.

"You're already here." Seeley had moved his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"So how did they take the news." Temperance felt that he would rather hear from her.

"As well as anyone I guess." Seeley shrugged, of course he knew but there was no real good explanation for it.

"And how did Ailis take it."

"I couldn't tell. She seemed like every other teenage girl, moody, its hard to tell with her. She had that kid back over but they were in her room."

"Are they dating?"

"No, just the way he acted around her seemed more 'friend' than 'boyfriend'."

"How old is your niece?"

"Teenager."

"Her file says that she's going to be turning sixteen soon."

"They have a file on her?"

"Well in Keira's file they mention her."

"Thank god." he let out a breath.

"Why?" Sweets got a little excited, had Booth already created a emotional connection.

"She seems that she might do something somewhat stupid enough that could get her caught by the cops."

"You must have done that when you were a kid." Temperance implied, she had heard plenty of stories showing Seeley's past.

"Yea. But I'm a guy."

"So? Females are more creative with what they can destroy and get away with."

"Did you blow something up Bones?"

"No, but you're niece could be..."

"Ailis."

"Yes. Ailis could be smart enough to get away with things. Especially if she hangs around with teenage boys."

"How's your mother?" Sweets interrupted.

There was a long silence. Temperance and Seeley were settling into their thoughtless banter and then of course Sweets killed it. He had to ask the question people would probably tap dance around for hours, even days.

"She's sick."

"With?"

"ATP, its thyroid cancer." Temperance interrupted, her explanation received a nod from Sweets who looked away.

"How is she though, with Keira." he continued after a moment.

"She didn't cry when I was there, but she made me tell her about my life for the past three decades."

"Was that good?"

"I guess, it was small talk. We didn't have a huge blowout, and I didn't start crying like those guys on Jerry Springer."

"Why are men crying on top of Jerry Springer?" men crying on top of men wasn't usually accepted in any society.

"No it's a TV show were they always have these stupid emotion filled things that are either really sad and heart warming or just women screaming at each other and ripping the clothes off of each other."

Temperance took a sip of her water and swallowed before she replied, "Sounds really, um entertaining."

"When you're bored it is." Sweets agreed, unknowingly giving away apart of his non-work life.

* * *

"Ailis Nurse Rachel is going to be by soon to pick me up. Do you have somewhere to go? I really don't want you hear by yourself." Paige was in the kitchen cleaning up the baking she had been doing non-stop since her eldest child had shown up at her doorstep.

"Um not really." Ailis was watching, well more just staring at the tv screen, some new show on about the lives of the people in New Jersey. It was a bit entertaining at how sad the human race could sink so low.

"Is Conner home?" Paige knew since revealing Keira's death Ailis hadn't really talked to anyone.

"No his little sister is having her first communion."

"I thought his last little sister had already done that." Gosh, how many kids did the McGintys have?

"No, he has three more little sisters."

"When will his parents just stop popping them out."

"That's what the CCD teachers want to know. They are the scariest bunch of kids ever." the many times she had been over Conner's house it had been overrun with children's toys and shoes.

"Have you even been going?" She had tried raising her sons and daughter as good Catholics and now she was still trying with her granddaughter.

"Do you want the lie or the truth." Grammy was in a fragile state, Ailis didn't really want to put her grandmother through the truth.

"Which will be better on my weary body?"

"The lie." You've got to be honest.

"Than let me just believe you are going like a good girl."

"Do I really seem like a good girl?"

"No. But there has to be a part of my baby Lissy in your heart that still remains a little bit innocent."

"You're making me sound like I'm some hooker or something."

"Language."

"Sorry." after a moment of thinking while throwing a little mascot off of her key-chain into the air, which reminded her strangely of the tv show House,

When there was a knock at the door, Ailis stood knowing that it was the nurse like always she came at noon to pick up her grandmother for the daily bouts of chemo and radiation therapy. Standing she opened the door to Rachel standing there a cheerful smile on her face.

"Is Paige ready?"

"Almost, she's finishing the dishes."

"No I'm ready. I'll see you in a little bit Lissy, stay around okay."

"Yup."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

Watching out the window Ailis saw the car drive down the street. For more than a few minutes Ailis sat holding the curtain open, not really seeing anything or thinking. It was rainy, and she didn't want to risk her pants becoming soaked and being screamed at by Grammy for attempting to catch ammonia, though she had a somewhat desperate feeling in her stomach to go swinging. Knowing that it would be late before Grammy actually came back, she could get away with getting soaked, get home before Grammy, put the clothes in the dryer said that you took a shower, she could even actually take a shower.

With her decision finalized she scurried around to the sofa she had been lying on earlier and bent down to the floor where her keys had fallen. Feeling to be a bit green she turned off the lights on the first floor and made her way to the front door. Feeling around in her coat she found her ipod and pressed the on button as she started to lock up the house.

Down the street she could see the water that was already starting to build up or more well flood around the storm drains. Sticks and leaves made little boats, walking close to it on the edge of the sidewalk, she followed their current until she came to a corner and they made the decent into another storm drain. Looking up she knew she was near the elementary school, the swings would make her wet but ehhh. It was swings, they were fun and worth getting her butt soaked for.

The silhouette of Ailis shuffling through the mulch to the school's swing set was narrated with the mulch squishing beneath her. Avoiding a puddle she reached her destination, "Just like therapy," she joked quietly even though she was the only one who could hear. Pulling the edge of her sleeve she moved part of her jacket down and gave a quick wipe to the black plastic seat. She looked down and saw smaller versions of the previous puddles forming on the seat again she rolled her eyes and sat down. The water was absorbed by her jeans and shifting back and forth, side to side, she felt that this was as dry as it was going to get.

In flight wet air moved over and face and it seemed to be a strange mix of cold and warm. She wasn't particularly happy with the chill but it was a good change from the past few weeks of snow that she had to deal with it. The chains gave a large squeal and Ailis looked up at them quickly, one of her biggest fears, being dropped by the swing's chains had developed from when she was in the fourth grade. She had watched as Conner tried to show off to some of his new middle school friends by jumping off the swing set while standing, it was a complete fail as he fell when the swing was at the farthest point away from the ground. Rationalizing that it was just rust or something she turned back to watching her feet move in and out.

For the past day, Grammy had attempted to be clingy and hug her a lot, even though Ailis had told her she was fine. She wanted to need Grammy but the hugging and the "Are you okays" always annoyed her. She had been to a therapist after her mother first went missing and she had sat in silence the most time. Out of the hour session the woman thought that she was suffering from stress. And attempted to make another appointment, though Ailis gave Grammy a hard glare and she thanked the doctor for her time.

* * *

_Please don't think I'm crazy_  
_I don't want you to understand

* * *

_

After a moment of remembering the questions that she was asked, she jumped when a raindrop landed on her cheek. She wasn't used to the feeling, for a while it had been a few months since she cried but the official news had brought a few chokes to her throat. It had been awhile for her to swallow the lump down but she did it after a few minutes of squeezing her stuffed pancake. Downstairs she had heard Grammy and what should she call him, Seeley, Mr. Booth or Agent Booth, Uncle Seeley? Seeley would work in her mind for now. He and Grammy had moved into the kitchen, using the path from the living room through the dining room and through the archway. At the moment Ailis didn't want to show what was going on with her.

* * *

_My mind is growing hazy  
To hell with your helping hand

* * *

_

A few deep breathes prepared her to sign onto IM.

ailisliddel:P Has Signed On

ailisliddel:P: hey

ConmanInCons: whats up?

ailisliddel:P: nm u?

ConmanInCons: eating leftova pasta,

ailisliddel:P: save me some

ConmanInCons: u know how many peps we have in my casa

ailisliddel:P: arent i honorary member tho?

ConmanInCons: well yea, but its 1st come 1st serve

ailisliddel:P: meanie

ConmanInCons: y didnt u come?

ailisliddel:P: that fed came back

ConmanInCons: oh talk to you and ms. b? ur mom?

ailisliddel:P: yea gave us other news to

ailisliddel:P: umm yea, btw hes my uncle

ConmanInCons: wow, that just doesnt wake a person up.

ailisliddel:P: i was the 1 getting it. oh and the kno bout my mom

ConmanInCons: ...?

ailisliddel:P: shes dead.

ConmanInCons: oh, um sorry if this is cliche but want to talk over phone

ailisliddel:P: no im good

ConmanInCons: im serious i can run over now.

ailisliddel:P: hes still here

ConmanInCons: let me get the phone brb

ailisliddel:P: conner im fine

CommanInCons: said brb listen for me, calling ur cell

ailisliddel:P Has Signed Off

* * *

_Why don't you just leave me alone?  
This conflict is my own_  
Leave Me Alone by Green Day


	6. And the Doorbell Rang

Thunder had ruined her swinging. Though she was probably out there sitting for a good three hours she still didn't want to go home with no one there. When Grammy would get home she would get food, but she still had to go through with her shower plan first, then Grammy would tell her to do her homework and not to stay up to late even though it was just a Saturday. Frustrated at being alone Ailis had kicked a pebble home most of the way, though as she came closer to the house she kicked harder then she expected and the pebble ended on the ledge between the sidewalk and the sewer.

"Damn it." Scuffling past the sewer she looked up and saw the house coming up. She wasn't going to be spending her time alone, but it wasn't someone she was sure she wanted to spend so much time with.

* * *

Seeley looked up as squishing became louder and louder, the sound was coming from the obviously soaked sneakers of Ailis who was walking up the porch steps. Starting to stand up off of the porch swing, Ailis sent him a look as she tugged her keys out of her pocket and walked the rest of the way to the door.

"Grammy isn't home." she said pulling the screen door open before putting the key into the lock.

"Oh. Well I have some time. They told me to take some personal time."

"That's nice." With her back turned to hims she made a sarcastic 'that's really great' face.

"Where were you?"

"Out."

"Out?"

"Yup."

"Doing what?'

"Robbing a few banks, popped a few caps into someone's ass." She turned to see his reaction, though she heard him laughing and sent him a look. "I have to take a shower before Grammy gets home, I was perfectly dry when you saw me, right.?"

"Right." He agreed catching the drift. Ailis started to run up the stairs two by two but paused and turned to him.

"Find the remote and watch TV. I'll be down sometime."

"Right." he looked over to where the couch was and searched a bit for the mentioned remote. Though when plopping down on the couch he felt plastic crack under him. As he lifted the cushion and sighed as he saw the remote still intact and resumed his position.

* * *

An episode and a half later of To Catch a Predator, Seeley was shocked at how stupid sex offenders where and how long Ailis managed to take a shower. Standing to take a version of a seventh inning stretch he walked the route towards the kitchen. Pausing at a few photos he saw his mother, looking a bit more healthier, a younger version of Ailis and who he knew as his sister Keira. There they were smiling all three on the porch swing Ailis laying across Paige and Keira. Next was a few that showed a toddler aged Ailis sitting in a bathtub with shampoo foam on her somewhat bald head and Keira smiling proudly; another showed Ailis wearing a first communion dress standing with a man that Seeley guessed was her estranged father. Making his way around from the dining room and back into the living room he froze in mid step when the phones around the house began to ring, upstairs Yankee Doodle was playing from the hallway and the kitchen phone screeched its classical sound. Walking over to the wireless phone he wondered what he should do.

"Hello?"

"Who's this?"

"Seeley Booth."

"Booth?"

"Yes."

"Are you related to Keira and Paige?"

"Yes, I'm Paige's son."

"Oh..."

"Who's this?"

"Mitch. I'm Ailis's dad."

"I haven't heard much about you." Seeley glanced over to where the picture of Ailis and her father was on the wall.

"Same here. Is Paige there?"

"No, she's out at the moment."

"Is Ailis there?"

"I'll see if she can talk." hearing a mumbled sure from Mitch he walked up the stairs. He hadn't been upstairs yet and the hallway held 4 closed doors.

"Hello?"

"Yea. I just have to find her." he pulled the phone down from his mouth, "Ailis."

"In here." her voice echoed from the bathroom. The door opened and Ailis's head stuck out from the crack. "What?"

"The phone."

"Tell them I'll be right there."

Seeley brought the phone back up to his ear and was about to speak.

"I heard her."

"Great."

Seeley was halfway downstairs when he heard Ailis rushing down the hallway behind him.

"Yellow?" she said after taking the phone from him.

"Hey, Al." Seeley watch her face drop.

"Hi." She gave him an uncomfortable smile and then turned walking back upstairs.

Waiting a few seconds on the stairs Seeley waited for a door to close, a little harder than necessary, before he walked down the rest of the flight.

* * *

"Al, I heard about Keira."

"Um, yea, we found out the other day." She sat uncomfortably on her bed, the small talk that they always seemed to have put her on the edge, he would always jump from 'Hey isn't it nice weather,' to 'Why don't you want to visit? You never want to have Christmas with my family.'

"I'm really sorry to hear that, your mom was awesome." _Awesome_, she thought, _then why didn't you stay with her Mitch?_

"I know." She agreed numbly. Awesome just wasn't the right word you used when talking about someone who just died, well was just _found dead._

"Do you guys know when you're holding the funeral?"

"No." she said curtly.

"Oh, well want to give me a call when you do, I can probably come down for a few days. See how you're doing, talk, and do some daughter-dad sort of stuff. It's been a while since we've done that." There was an air of

"No shit." _Has he ever heard me swear? I've been saying stuff like that for years…_

Mitch's side of the line stayed silent for a few seconds.

"So how did you meet this Seeley guy?" he sounded a bit concerned, some random dude claiming to be your ex's long lost brother, in the house with your daughter, without your daughter's grandmother home.

"It's actually kind of a long story. I actually have to go." She swallowed coming up with a not really well planned lie off the top of her head," "Got a project for school…"

"Yea, yea, good; Homework that's important." He sounded a bit disappointed, like he would rather continue this awkward conversation with his estranged teenage daughter than go play house with his wife and son. "Well I'll talk to you later Al. Love you."

"Yup. Bye." She clicked END. _God, really? An 'I love you'_? How long ago did she stop saying that to him? When he moved to Vermont? No was it when his visits changed from every few days to sporadically scheduled weekends? It was more recent; when he told her about his new relationship with Heather. How he had to say it in front of her mom, the woman that he had a child with.

After a few shaky breaths, Ailis started too stand up off of her bed but jumped when the phone rang again. She glanced at the caller id and gave a silent pray when she saw Grammy's cell number appear.

"Hey." She tried to change the tone in her voice; Grammy had that spidey-sense when something was wrong.

"Hey Lissy, is Conner over?"

"No. But Um, Uncle," she cringed at the use of the foreign word, "Seeley, I guess, is here."

"Oh. That's nice. Well I was thinking that I could make some meatloaf and mashers, have a good kind of family dinner." She sounded legitimately excited.

"Okay." She gave a small smile to the family dinner.

"I'll be home in twenty minutes, do you mind heating up the oven for me?"

"Sure."

"Great, love you."

"Love you to." she grinned and then clicked END again.

* * *

Downstairs Seeley watched or more stared at the TV screen. He didn't know who had called but Ailis had come down the stairs only a few seconds later and entered the kitchen.

She stuck her head out the archway that connected the kitchen and living room."Are you staying for dinner?"

"Is this an invitation?"

"Well Grammy is making mashers so…" If he truly was her child he would stick around for her mashers.

"She still calls them that." He beamed, not really asking but more amazed that she had kept a lot of the parenting techniques that she used briefly with him and Jared.

"Yea. Mashed potatoes?"

"Oh yea." He stood up and walked into the kitchen were she was setting the table for three people.

"Mom used to make it every Sunday, mashers and meatloaf." he smiled at the memory.

"She still does, well usually."

"Loved it!" Seeley rubbed his hands together in excitement, "Best meal of the week."

"No, pancakes for dinner, that's her top. She's the Emeril of pancakes."

"Emeril of pancakes?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"Hell yea. He's probably done a show on it. And that's beside the point. Her breakfasts kick ass."

"No. It has to be Meatloaf and Mashers."

"Pancakes and variants."

"That's disrespecting the Mashers." He pointed a finger at her and she gave a short chuckle.

"Breakfast, most important meal of the day."

"Mashers."

"Eh. No it's pancakes." The faux argument paused as the doorbell rang and Ailis shuffled through the living room towards the front door.

* * *

"Um hi?" Another tall man, similar to Seeley stood there. Hunched over slightly attempting to keep rain off of him.

"Yea. Um, I got a call from someone. Is Paige Booth here?"

"No not at the moment."

"Oh."

"Who are you?"

"Her son."

* * *

_And I don't know what to say to you.  
And I don't know if you can ever prove that you love me,  
That you love me_

~Addison Road I'll Be OK


	7. Where the Hell is?

Letting a very large sigh be released from her chest, the pathologist walked from her office to the main lab area where several interns and Brennan were looking over the bones of Keira Booth. What she had just done probably was going to either strengthen or cost her friendship with Seeley, and it was making her nervous as hell. Turning from the remains she looked around at the different offices, trying to choose which one of her colleagues to spill her guts with.

* * *

This was the twelfth sketch that Angela had drawn in the past hour of Keira. They all were slightly different, sometimes her bangs were in her eyes, or she was smiling widely or looking away. But whatever it was she couldn't get the picture of this unknown Booth out of her head. From what Bren had told her, Seeley and his mother were taking it quite well, no big scream fests. She tossed the sketch pad onto her desk and leaned back rubbing her eyes.

"Cam how the hell could you do that!" Angela jumped up, and looked around for the origin of the yelling.

"At least it was me and not some FBI agent." Cam said in a cool voice.

"Well maybe that agent would have been Booth." She knew that the voice yelling was Sweets and it was a bit concerning, he was one of the few people that never yelled.

"It was their mother that has been missing for over thirty years. Jared has waited long enough."

"And it wasn't your place to tell him."

"It was me or Seeley three months from now."

"Or his own mother." Sweets swallowed and took in a deep breath, trying to put some composure back into his actions. "Cam yes, you know them personally and for much longer than us. But this is over stepping the boundaries. Extremely."

"Sweets." Angela said from the doorway, her arms crossed like an upset parent, "If we're going to have a domestic dispute, I'm going to have to ask you to take this outside."

"You know what. Deal with this on your own, you obviously know what you're doing, because you all have dealt with finding a parent after an extended period of time." he stormed out at the last comment, it wasn't really rude, but the lab was still shocked that he had raised his voice that loud.

* * *

"Oh, uh Jared right?" Ailis stared up at the man, now she saw the resemblance.

"Yes, can I come in?" Jared took a step closer to the door, and Ailis didn't really think about her next sentence.

"Um, Seeley is here now." _For some reason this is going to make the whole situation better,_ Ailis said bitterly in her mind.

"He is?" Jared looked around the room and then followed the sound of heavy footsteps until he saw his brother walking out of the kitchen, heading towards them.

Hearing a very familiar voice at the door, Seeley started to move from the kitchen to the living room, where Ailis stood holding the door open to Jared.

"Jared?" Who told him? He was the one who was going to tell him, _supposed_ to tell him about their mother. "How did you find out?"

"How did I find out?" he mocked, "Seeley, Cam had to tell me Mom's address. Where is she?"

"I'm waiting for her to come back."

"Come back from where?"

"The doctors." Ailis butted in. She had backed away from the door, standing between the coffee table and the couch, the brothers for a moment forgetting. Not wanting to have to go through the long explanation of the cancer now, she would let Grammy deal with that.

"Oh."

"Um, Ailis can we talk to each other for a few minutes." Seeley was

"Yea."

Taking Jared by the arm, Seeley lead him out onto the front porch. Ailis watched, holding onto her elbows stiffly as her two uncles, wow that was weird for her to think or well now know that she had uncles who were seconds away from fighting. When the door closed she folded herself onto one of the bottom steps of the stairs, leaning her head against the wall she squeezed her eyes shut, _Is this how all families act or does God just hate me and wants to laugh at my fail of being in a already dysfunctional family? _

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Jared's voice was harsh even though it was in a slight whisper.

"Jared I was going to. I've only known for two days..."

"I've only known for two hours! You didn't even tell me, Cam had to call me." He turned away from Seeley, but his brother could still see the tension in his body.

"She shouldn't have."

"You shouldn't have kept this from me! I was her son to." Jared turned around quickly and marched over to Seeley.

He stared at his brother for a moment before he spook, "No you are her son." Seeley could see that his brother wasn't pleased with the comment.

"She left us. She didn't want us and she probably wouldn't have come and found us if they hadn't found that woman's body."

"Keira's body."

"Well how the hell would I know that? I haven't talked to her in thirty years."

"Jared..."

"Don't even try to explain this." Jared turned from him and looked out to the street. "When is she going to be back?"

"Ailis said twenty minutes."

"Ailis..."

"The girl inside,"

"Yea,"

"That's Keira's daughter."

"Shit, I'm an uncle." Jared turned to look at Seeley, surprise clearly on his face.

"You've been an uncle to Parker." He said slightly confused.

"Well, yea it's just a bit of a shock." He took a second before continuing, "How old is she?"

"Ailis?"

"Yea."

"15, Keira would have been 32."

"So. How is she?"

"Mom?"

"Yea."

"Okay. Well it's not okay, but."

"For the situation."

"Yea."

* * *

Angela really knew that because Bren was Bren, she would have missed the event of the decade, Sweets yelling. Standing up a bit stiffly, she left her office and started over to her friend's office. Rounding a corner of the lab she saw that the office was dark, turning to look up at the where the bodies and other pieces of evidence were she only saw a few of the interns and then Wendell.

"Wendell!" she called.

"Yea." Turning to look at Angela his elbow hit the beaker that he had been holding up to his eyes. "Ahhh." he sighed as he steadied the beaker and prevented the liquid inside from spilling and him being yelled at. "Good." Looking at the beaker, making sure that it wouldn't fall he turned to see the woman he gave an awkward smile in return to the look on her face. "Hey." Rubbing the back of his neck Wendell attempted to keep a blush down.

"Have you seen Bren?"

"Dr. Brennan? No she left around ten."

"Did she say where she was going?"

"No."

"Grrrr."

"Have you tried calling her?"

"No." it took her a minute to realize that he was actually trying to be helpful. "Oh. Thanks Wendell."

"No prob."

A few of the other interns looked up from their work at his use of the slang, "Sorry, -blem."

* * *

In a trio they sat, all staring at different parts of the room or for Ailis, at her phone. Far from what she expected the two brothers came back in slightly more appreciative of each other, though they were still a bit stiff.

"So when did Mom say she was going to be home?"

"A little bit, there might be traffic." she said as she looked at her phone screen. 5:35. Her appointment was supposed to be over sooner, it had started only three hours earlier.

"Oh yea, rush hour." He nodded, he and Seeley were used to the tension between them, but throwing in a teenage girl that they both barely knew, and it seemed to become impossibly higher.

"Yup." Ailis was in her own world as she flipped open the phone to reply to a text.

"Who are you talking to?" Ailis ignored it, thinking that Jared was asking some random question.

"Ailis?" she looked up, pretending to just not have heard instead of choosing not to hear.

"Oh. . Um my friend Conner..."

"Friend?" Jared gave a small smirk to Seeley, maybe they could joke their way to a somewhat normal niece-uncle relationship.

"Yea. I've known him since I was like seven." She rolled her eyes at the suggestion.

"Always the best couples." She knew that he was trying to joke, but still even when Seeley did it, it was so forced. Gosh, this was the perfect set up for a character on some stupid teen show.

"What? Wow, not like that at all man. Way," she exaggerated the way out, as if that proved her point, "Way off."

"Oh." Seeley nodded he looked at Jared who had a sly face on, even if he had just met her, he was still going to treat her like family. Which was joking on her all the time.

She rolled her eyes in the teenagerish fashion and returned to typing into her phone, before hitting send she paused when she heard the halt of a car's axles. Lunging up she ran to the door with excitement, she really needed a Grammy meatloaf. But a disappointed look fell across her face as she saw a really fancy car outside of the house, with a woman climbing out of it.

"Seeley?"

"Yea."

"Isn't that the lady that you came with the other day, the author?" Not responding with words, Seeley took a spot parallel to Ailis and looked out the window to find the missing Temperance Brennan walking up the steps to the Booth Household.


	8. Why Can't You

"Temperance knew about this?" Jared had moved from the couch and was now standing behind Ailis and Seeley.

"Jared..." Gosh he really was an idiot for not telling him.

"Why am I the last to know? I'm her son and I don't even get to know that she's alive!" _So much for a tiny bit of family peace…_Ailis grumbled in her head, annoyed that they were going to continue the conversation, shouldn't adults get over something, especially when they both said sorry? _They all can be so immature sometimes._ Ailis slouched into the couch, slightly annoyed; couldn't they do this at one of their houses?

"I was going to tell you." He repeated, trying to get his appoint to his baby brother.

"When?" Jared crossed his arms across his chest as he stood

"Soon." _Wow, any vaguer?_

"Soon like when?"

"Like tonight."

"Screw you Seeley."

Ailis grabbed the open screen door and jumped out of the room, she hated when people fought, and she hated being caught in the middle which did mean literally to. Standing out on the porch, she took a breath and opened her eyes, revealing Temperance or Bones or whatever people called her, watching her and then glancing to the door, where the brother's voices could be heard getting louder. Scooting away from the door in case one of them decided to storm out, Ailis moved over to the porch swing. Taking up half of the swing as she sat vertically she curled in on herself, resting her forehead on her bent knees.

"You do know that your niece is sitting on the porch crying?" Jared who was pointing his finger at Seeley's chest looked up at Temperance before pulling himself away from his brother.

"Your fighting and she probably doesn't want to hear you two yelling." She stated this in a matter of fact tone, as if it took serious people skills to read someone who had just stormed out of a house where fighting was taking place.

"She's crying?" Seeley reacted in a more fatherly way, looking out the window and appearing anxious; while Jared stood there looking and feeling slightly guilty.

"I think so." Temperance shifted her feet awkwardly as Seeley in a slightly rushed pace walked outside.

"How long have you known?" Jared didn't have his usual flirtatious look in his eye. He didn't even wait until the door had shut.

"What?" she was a bit struck back, she had come to find Seeley just to deliver something. Not talk about the knowledge of each other's families.

"About my mom."

"Only a few days, as long as Booth has." she tried to look around the room anywhere but his eyes.

"Wow." He shook his head and gave a snort at how slow the news took to get to him.

"I was there when he found out. Cam, Hodgins and Angela told him."

"When?"

"Three or four days ago."

He didn't say anything but walked back over to a couch and sat down.

* * *

Temperance heard Seeley quietly talking to Ailis, but she didn't hear the girl replying only the chain creaking.

"How'd it happen?"

"What happen?"

"Keira." of course that's what he wanted to know.

"I really shouldn't." He was a victim's family member, no matter how much they knew each other they still were family.

"We'll find out some time and I'd rather hear it from you."

"I really shouldn't."

"Tempe."

"I should wait till Stevenson gives the okay to."

"What if my mom wants to know?" it seemed that his questions were more demands now.

"Jared you haven't talked to her yet."

"It doesn't matter would you tell her?"

"At the appropriate time, yes."

"Now, to me seems like the appropriate time."

"I just came to give Seeley these." she motioned to the papers in her hands.

"Well why don't you stay for a while and explain."

"She's right. Bones what are the papers?" Seeley was now standing in the doorway; Ailis had already squeezed her way behind Temperance and was scurrying into the kitchen. Jared followed her with his eyes for a moment, the kid could move fast.

"The release forms for Keira's body."

"Thanks Bones."

"I'll go." she put the folder on a side table and started to move towards the door.

"No you should stay, if you knew about my mother you should meet her."

"Jared." All three turned in surprise to the raspy voice that came from the kitchen doorway. Walking to the group in a pair of black crocs she came only a few inches shorter then Temperance.

"Mom." Jared, stood slowly, comparing his mother now and the sweet childhood memories that he had of her.

"We need to talk." she looked between Seeley and Jared. "About a lot of stuff. And is she the woman you work with?"

"Yea. This is Temperance Brennan."

"Doctor." Jared coughed in.

"Well, as you might have guessed I'm Ms. Booth." she put out her hand and Temperance could see where the IV had been recently pulled out.

"It was nice meeting you,"

"Same here." she smiled but her eyes looked at her two oldest.

"I'll go now."

* * *

"Bren where are you?" the agent that was taking Booth's place in this investigation was a little annoyed that the lead squint on the case had gone missing. Angela sat in her chair with her cell phone against her ear, bouncing her leg nervously; aggravated at the fact that her best friend could write a book but not pick up her.

"Ang. You aren't picking up so call me back." Temperance was sitting in her "fancy" car in traffic, waiting for it to move in the depressing weather. Unusually it was raining heavily in D.C. for the past few days; on her way down around three it wasn't as bad but now as people started to head home the arteries of the highway started to jam. Cam wouldn't be happy that she had brought the release forms early and personally to the Booths. Over the past few years she had gone beyond protocol with Booth and now she saw that it would be used best with this situation.

Looking into her mirror she saw her eyes and for a moment looked around the car, thinking about what Jared wanted to know. She never told the families specifics on how the victim had died, or well Booth never did. But how was she going to be able to say that someone she knew had a sister, a daughter or a mother that was skinned alive? She never saw the aftermath of murder on the family but now she would. She would have to work with it everyday.

The signature was swirled, like most females, and it had Booth on it. He didn't ask in the last three hours or three days for the matter, why she never changed her name. His father could have dragged her back, he could have looked for her himself and found her years ago. And maybe none of this would have happened.

* * *

Seeley had been sitting in his living room, the time had been rolling by, he had left around eight and it was close to 1 a.m now. Jared understood some things about their mother's situation but how long the anger had been in there had permanently affected him. Ailis even though she hadn't talked, had eaten dinner with the three original Booths, the brother's talking about the good highlights of their childhood. Paige mentioning something about Keira or Ailis had done. But what was keeping him up wasn't the barely decent life his mother and sister had lead it was what she had asked him to do tomorrow.

"Drive me to my appointment tomorrow?"


	9. No One's Laughing

Nervously, Seeley Booth sat next to his mother in the Georgetown University Hospital; his mother seemed completely at ease with the situation while he sat tapping his foot at a highly annoying pace.

"Seeley, stop that you're making everyone else nervous, and this isn't the place for that." She said as she looked up from her magazine, Men's Health, interesting choice.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"Don't worry I've been to plenty of these, they're not a big deal."

"Mom. You've done this before and know what the tests are. Hell Ailis probably knows all the test names."

"I wouldn't have taken you if you were going to be so..."

"Worried."

"Yes."

"Well it's a natural reaction to going into your mother's cancer appointment." He was fiddling with random parts of his attire now, adjusting his phone's placement, or brushing 'lint' off of his shirt.

"I should have brought your doctor friend."

"Bones?" Paige had literally had just said hello, nice to meet you and bye to her. Where did this type of relationship, if they could be considered anything but acquaintances, involve?

"Yes, but what's her real name?"

"Temperance."

"She would be better here,"

"I'm your son though."

"And that's why I brought you here." She went

Seeley was about to go to battle with his mother's sarcasm but stopped when she viciously started coughing. Bending over she pulled up her arm and shook, each cough came out more hoarser and harder than before.

* * *

"Ms. Booth we're going to get an MRI of your lungs and thyroid. Just to know exactly what the problem is." a resident with a clip board had been explaining and schpeeling about every little process he had been doing for the last three hours.

Seeley was surprised at the speed that the oncologist had come in to meet them, usually for him the doctors had him sitting in the germ infested waiting room until five minutes before the office closed.

The resident turned to Paige who was lying down in a hospital bed. "Now can I get a nurse to get you anything?"

"Water would be very nice." she smiled even though she was hooked up to unknowable number of monitors.

"That'll help with the coughing. I'll be right back." he smiled; Seeley guessed that he was always smiling, as if it would make the situation any better for the patients.

"Seeley." He jumped at his mother's raspy voice, apparently he had watched the resident leave out the door, but that was probably more than a minute ago.

"Yea." Looking at her, he couldn't tell how she did it. His mother looked tiny and very, very breakable, but she still held a commanding air about her.

"Why don't you give Ailis a call and tell her that we'll be here for a little bit longer."

In the hallway Seeley was alone besides for the nurse that was walking towards his mother's room with a plastic pitcher of water. Unclipping his phone he looked down and saw five missed calls, pressing OK he saw "3 Bones", "1 Cam", "1 Unknown".

"Unknown?" he brought the phone to his ear, after three rings he heard a voice answer.

* * *

"Hello." A young voice answered; in the background some song with screaming could be heard. From what he saw, Ailis didn't fit the metal-head mold.

"Ailis?"

"Yup." She sounded like any other girl on the phone.

"How did you get my number?"

"Jared." How the hell did she do that? She hadn't talked at dinner at all.

"Mom and I are waiting for the Doctor to come take her to some tests." Even from her side of the phone Ailis could tell that 'tests' held an ominous meaning. She looked at Missy, who was lying across from her on the bed, trying to tell what the conversation was about from the one side she could her.

"Oh, okay tell her I'm a Missy's house then I might stay over."

"Who's Missy?"

"My friend." she stated plainly. Missy burst into a fit of laughter, before she tried yelling "She be my hoe."

"Oh okay good." He heard what sounded to be a muffled struggle.

Smacking her friend with a pillow she steadied herself as she readjusted herself on the bed. "Grammy knows who she is."

"I'll call you when we're heading out."

"Talk to you later." she hanged up quickly.

* * *

_No one laughs at God in a hospital  
No one laughs at God in a war  
No one's laughing at God  
When they're starving or freezing or so very poor

* * *

_

He was looking at the phone wondering what to do. These weren't what he expected especially at six in the morning. A month at the most. A month for them to plan a funeral, a month to figure out what's going to happen to Ailis, a month for Ailis to watch her life melt away. A month of complete crap. Then he thought of all the stuff that would be done to his mother in the next few days, just for her to last a month.

She needs a tracheotomy, a fancy word for a hole in her throat and a feeding tube. The resident had explained what the MRI showed to him first before even mentioning it to his mother. Now they were waiting for a surgeon to give the go ahead to do the simple surgeries. He had to tell Ailis, he had to tell Jared. Finally flipping the phone open he searched through his phones contacts and found Jared's name.

Five Rings Later and he got the voice mail.

"Jared. Its about Mom, they are going to have to do some stuff to her. So that's she's comfortable. I have to call Ailis and get her to the hospital but call me back. Bye."

* * *

"Yos." An energized Ailis said into her phone.

"Ailis?" How the hell was she that awake at six in the morning?

"Seeley?" Shouldn't they have left the hospital earlier, they could not just be leaving now. It was six, doctors were jerks that made you wait 12 hours just so you could be slid into a tub with two magnets in it. But they wouldn't keep someone that late for just a few tests.

"Its about Grammy. She's going to have to stay in the hospital. Is there anyone who can give you a ride up here?"

There was a long pause as he heard her swallow, "No. Um. Yea. I don't have a ride." She had to go to the hospital? That meant something.

"Okay. I'm going to talk to one of my friends and see if they can pick you up. Are you going to be able to get home?"

"Yea. I'm down the street." She had been sitting on Missy's large sectional watching a marathon of pixar movies, though as Missy laughed at Dori's just keep swimming line, she quickly sat up and walked into a hallway.

"Okay. I'll call you when I get you a ride."

"Thanks. Is Grammy awake?"

"No. She's sleeping, the tests where really long." Tests, could mean a lot of things, blood tests, MRIs what did the tests mean?

"If she wakes up tell her I love her." To Seeley it sounded like when Parker was younger, that maybe her three words would make her magically better, or awake, or back to the same Grammy that she had been.

"I can do that." He smiled a bit.

"Thanks."

"Holy shit." Ailis whispered she leaned up against the wall of the hallway and slid down. Six in the morning wasn't the time to give that type of news. The last time Grammy was in the hospital it was when they first diagnosed her and it was only for a few days. But this had to be different.

* * *

"Angela speaking." She said in an unusually groggy and non cheerful voice.

"Hey it's Booth."

"Booth, hey. How is everything?" She sat up a bit in bed. Hodgins beside her rolled over and pressed his head into a pillow.

"Well... My mom she's in the hospital and I was wondering if you could give Ailis a ride up here."

"I can't give her a ride, work; remember I carpool with the much needed Hodgins. But Sweets isn't doing anything. I can ask him." she ended the last part of the sentence in a overly cheery tone, maybe throwing some sugar into the mix would make it better.

"Wait. No. Not Sweets, Angela!" Though he could hear her getting out of bed and saying something to Hodgins; He pinched the bridge of his nose in impatience, he could barely deal with Sweets on a regular basis and now Ailis was going to be thrown into an hour car ride with him.

Five minutes of light snoring filling his ears Seeley jumped at Angela's voice, "Sweets said that he can do it, he offered to get her something to eat to. Said she probably hasn't eaten yet."

"I don't know, she hasn't met anyone else and I don't want her first impression of squints from Sweets."

"He's not that bad. And there like the same age." she gave a bit of a laugh.

"Thanks Angela, and tell Sweets thanks."

"Sure thing Booth. Should she bring anything? You guys might be staying overnight."

"Yea. I'll call her and tell her."

"Oh and Booth..."

"Yea. Tell Bren. And I'm really sorry. I heard that your mom is really nice."

"Thanks Ang."

* * *

_No one laughs at God  
When the doctor calls after some routine tests  
No one's laughing at God_  
Laughing With  
Regina Spektor


	10. The Both of Us

It was too bright for a morning. Way to bright for Ailis's liking. And why in hell were the birds singing, it wasn't a good day. They should get a memo when the day wasn't going to be happy and cheerful and start playing bird sized violins. She really wanted her life to be going back to normal, but no, Grammy was important, but getting that type of disturbing call that early in the morning really messed with a sleep deprived teenager. She sat waiting for some unknown co-worker of Seeley's to come pick her up and bring her to the nation's capital. Missy's mom was a little skeptical of letting her go home for the ride but she lied a little, only a little and said her other uncle was coming to pick her up. Though in reality it was supposed to be some 'Sweets' guy, and all she related the name with was a child molester, meaning if it was a windowless van he showed up in, then she would rather hitch her way to DC.

Putting her left cheek in her hand she leaned against the porch railing and looked down the street for the mysterious Dr. Sweets. A few of her neighbors drove by, making their commutes to work and casting her a few questioning glances that she smiled off. Though a slower moving black four door caught her attention, the driver a twenty something looking guy glancing down at his phone every few seconds and then up at different houses. Instinct told her that this was her ride. Jumping off of the porch she walked down the walkway to the nearing vehicle. Standing on the curb of the sidewalk Ailis began her stare down of the car.

* * *

For some reason map-quest didn't really want to accept Glenn Dale as an actual part of Maryland, so Sweets had to revert to the directions that Angela had texted him earlier that morning. The request to become a chauffeur came in exactly when he had walked into the hallways that lead him to his office in the FBI Building. He was of course slightly annoyed but then extremely giddy, he would be the first person on the team to meet Booth's niece. He knew he was on the right seat but now he just had to find the right person. Looking back up to see where he was on Glen Avenue, he saw a teenage girl sitting on the curb of the sidewalk. This might be his passenger.

* * *

"Hey." Sweets was leaning against the window to get a better view of the girl.

"You Sweets?" She looked up at him, giving him a good look at her face, she wasn't a pure Booth but he saw the resemblance between her mother, Seeley and her.

"You Ailis?"

"Great. My rides here!" she jumped up and dusted off the back of her pants.

"You aren't going to check my certification?" she was already opening the car door. Didn't she think that this was in any way a little creepy?

"No, I recognize you."

"How?" She comfortably slid in next

"I have my ways." Looking out of the car window she checked her image in the mirror.

"What?"

"Seeley." That was definitely a clear answer.

"Oh."

"Texted a picture."

"Yea." It was probably him wearing that elf costume a few years ago.

"And I gotta say that I like you better with the ears." Yup, it had to be the elf picture.

* * *

Booth looked down at his buzzing phone. Paige who had been watching the news looked over at him as he laughed.

"What is it?"

"Ailis."

"What did she say?"

"She's asking me why I had Sweets pick her up."

"Who's Sweets?"

"A co-worker, he's a psychologist. He was the only one who was available to drive her."

"She doesn't like him?"

"No, she just said that she hasn't met an elf that listens to death metal before."

"How is he an elf?"

"It's a really long story."

"If she gets hurt you're getting a good smack." Paige crossed her arms and looked back at the television screen, though her lips were curling with the traces of a smile.

* * *

The car ride had been mainly silent; the traffic had made the ride longer than expected making it even more awkward for Ailis. This so called Sweets, or Lance as she could call him, had tried asking her favorite bands, tv shows, movies normal questions. But her mind was completely somewhere else and he finally gave up. Currently they were in a traffic jam, something the two had experienced many a time on the drive.

"So have you eaten yet?"

"Yea. Breakfast at my friend's."

"You stayed over?"

"Yup."

"So I'm the first co-worker you've met?" he didn't mean for it to come out as excited as it did.

"No." she attempted to not laugh at the look of disappointment on his face.

"Oh, who did you meet?"

"Bones." Ailis added finger quotes as she said the nickname.

"When?" he looked over at her again, that's what Ailis noticed that, he was always glancing over at her, as if she was going to break any minute.

"The day I first met him, he came over asking questions about my mom." 'Him' had to be Booth or well Seeley Booth, there where now several Booths in the equation.

"Was this before you knew who he was?"

She turned and gave him a glare that clearly said "no shit".

"Who else have you met? Jared? Hannah?"

"Jared, yea; Hannah no. Who's she?" she looked over at Sweets, who was looking ahead at the road.

"Oh. Well I'm not sure I should tell you..."

"You already screwed yourself over for mentioning her. Might as well get it over with." she said the almost threat like statement, calmly, so Booth-like.

* * *

Angela was rushing around her office, picking up random things from one desk and then running around and switching them with another item. Jack who was in a calm mood that day watched the frenzy for a few more minutes before intervening.

"Ang, what's the road runner routine for?"

"Nothing I'm just looking for something I drew for Ailis."

"You haven't even met her and you already have a present for her?"

"Well it's not really a present, it's a sketch of her Mom and I'm not sure if she wants it or not." she paused in her search to turn to her husband, looking slightly breathless.

"Did you check your easel?"

"Well yea!"

"Check it again." he crossed his arms at the challenging look his wife was giving him.

"Why?"

"Because I see a picture of Booth's sister right on it." Angela let a scowl creep onto her face as she walked over to said easel and snatched off the sketch.

As she walked by Jack yelled, "Tell her it's from the both of us!"

* * *

Looking out at the window at the slow morning, it was a week day yes but she expected more of the old timers to come into the diner and 'The Royal' was lacking of the old people. Ailis didn't have really anything really interesting to be staring at so she let her disappointment at the lack of old people take over her thoughts. It was the only way to avoid having to look at Sweets, make his eye contact and then be forced into a conversation with the awkward being. At the moment a fire hydrant had caught her attention, for the city it looked brightly red against the sidewalk, like Clifford almost...

"Here's Angela." Sweets sat at up straighter having his elbow fall from the table as the tall woman walked over to the table. Ailis turned to look at her; she had a stylish outfit on, nothing to flashy something that would just be considered as appropriate office wear.

"Hey Sweets."

"Ailis," he called trying to get her attention, "This is Angela Montenegro. She's works with Seeley and Dr. Brennan, she's..."

"The normal one out of the squints." She said jokingly, she had a huge grin on her face. If she wasn't in a slightly pissy mood Ailis was sure she could have started to smile a little with her.

"Ailis, I'm the niece." she waved awkwardly from her spot at the table's window seat and returned her gaze to the glass of orange juice in front of her.

"So you guys order yet?"

"No, Ailis said that she wasn't hungry."

"Hey, you should probably get something. Someone else is paying for it." Angela once again tried her trademark smile and Ailis returned it only with half the muster.

"Pancakes here are great." Sweets encouraged.

"Not that hungry." she looked out the window again, this time up and down the street, trying to find a route to get out.

"You know what. Let's go out for a little. Go to the museum, I haven't done that in a while." Angela stood with Sweets, Ailis watching them for a second before joining them. If these were the two she was going to be condemned to spending her day with she wasn't going to be happy. After all didn't she come into town to see Grammy?


	11. That Gives You The Right

"So what do you like to do?"

Angela had been asking these questions for most of the time that they had been wandering around the museum. Earlier Sweets had abandoned them to do his job, something, Ailis thought, that he should have been doing all along. So now every few minutes Angela would cough or call out her name as she started to move down to the next one exhibit. Turning from the sculpture that she was looking at Angela looked for her charge, _Crap if I already lost her...bingo_. At the moment she was leaning over a rail of a balcony, watching a tour below follow their guide, what she expected to be a teacher pointing out really not interesting pieces, thank god she had opted out of art freshman year.

"Ailis?" A hand touched her shoulder and she jumped, feeling her heart start galloping at the contact. Turning she saw Angela behind her, a glint of concern in her eye.

"Sorry, spaced." she gave a small smile, as she adjusted the strap on her messenger bag, preparing herself to move on. Angela walked a bit a head and she caught up to her.

"So… any after school stuff?" The older woman looked to her left, at the mini Booth next to her.

"Soccer in the fall and track in the spring." All of her answers had been like that short and sweet and straight to the point.

"Oh, that's cool, Booth used to play a lot of sports." Angela didn't know how far into each others lives that Seeley and his niece had gone, but if it wasn't far she was going to fill her in.

"Yea. That's what I heard." Ailis nodded absently.

"Yea, he still plays hockey."

"That's cool." again she was just giving back the polite responses,_ Get it over with and tell me that you want to leave! Since when were teenagers not straightforward? Because I didn't get the memo..._

"So have you meet Parker?"

"His son. Not yet."

"He's a great kid. Adorable, loves it when I paint his face."

"An adorable cousin that's nice." a hint of a real smile was on the girl's face now. _Maybe I'm getting somewhere._

As they continued walking they fell into another uncomfortable silence. Angela, glancing over at Ailis every few minutes, she knew that the kid was bored out of her mind, and was too polite to say anything. _Walking around some museum with a babbling stranger, great fun, I'm supposed to be the fun, cool, hip artist. I should have picked something funner. I might be getting old I just used hip to describe myself..._

"I'm going to call Booth, see when he wants to come and pick you up."

"Okay." Ailis looked at the two doors of the exhibits hallway, one where there was the babysitter, and the other with D.C's freedom. Looking back at the empty room, she needed to see her Grammy.

* * *

"I really don't know what I'm supposed to do." Hannah was sitting next to him on the hospital's waiting room couch, waiting on any news on his mother's recovery.

"Keeping it from her longer isn't going to be any better. And she needs to know, she's grown up with her." Their hands were intertwined and she gave his a squeeze.

"The only time I've seen her remotely angry, was when her dad called, and that was just the silent, pissed off, brooding act."

"Well, why not have your Mom tell her?"

"The Doctor said she won't be able to use her voice for awhile."

"Does your brother know?"

"I left him a voice mail yesterday, he didn't call back." Seeley bent his head over rubbing his temples; the amount of stress on him today was making him feel like crap. A new noise though was starting to make his head hurt.

"Seeley, your phone is ringing." Looking up he saw the razor cell phone sliding across the coffee table's wooden top.

"Hello?"

"Hey Booth."

"What's up Angela?"

"Well, me and Ailis are at the museum and I just wanted to know an update to see where we should go next."

"The doctor hasn't told us anything yet." Again he could feel Hannah's hand squeeze his, he more than appreciated the reassurance.

"Us?"

"Me and Hannah."

"Oh, well do you want to talk to Ailis?"

"Sure."

"I left her in an exhibit wait a minute," Angela's heels could be heard over the receiver and a distant, "Shit," as well.

* * *

Shaking her leg nervously, Ailis leaned against the hospital's entrance counter, waiting for her to be given Grammy's room number. It had been ten minutes since the secretary had gone into the back room to make a 'few calls' to nurses upstairs. Her hands had just started to prickle back to life, as the walk over to the hospital had caused her not so weather friendly dressed body to start to freeze up.

"Ailis!" a voice called across the hall. Turning she looked around, there were a bunch of scrub-clad nurses and doctors leaving for their shift. It was hard to concentrate on where it was coming from, turning back around she turned back around as she heard the secretary heels clicked back over to her.

"They're sending someone down to meet you, here's your pass." she reached across the counter for the flimsy piece of card paper that was her pass. _Oh look they even put my name on it._ She smirked and turned to look at the lobby again. She was even getting an escort.

"Ailis!" Who the hell was that? "Ailis!"

"Crap!" She jumped as a heavy paw landed on her shoulder. Turning quickly she saw Seeley out of breath and gripping onto her.

"Angela said you left."

"Yea. I wanted to see Grammy, I thought that's why you brought me in, or well the psychologist did." He could hear the attitude, the attitude Hannah had warned him about, the attitude that lay deep in every teenage girl.

"Ailis, you can't just run off."

Her eyebrows shot sky high at this comment. Did he just try to act like an authority figure to her? Before any other parental actions started to take place she started to walk in the direction of the elevators, a general way for her to get up to Grammy.

"Ailis, do you even know where her room is?"

"No. I'm waiting for you to show me..." she turned and gave him a look, if the tone in her voice didn't convey her message maybe the 'Don't even try to stop me' look would work better.

"She's in the ICU."

"What?" her voice was raised a pitch, this was some information that she needed to know.

"Ailis, lets just get upstairs, okay. We'll talk where it's more private." For a moment they stood next to the elevators, each watching each other for a reaction; Seeley to see if she would willingly follow him and Ailis to see if he gave off any signs that something could be wrong with Grammy.

The elevator was awkwardly quiet, no music played in the background, in fear of disturbing patients. Seeley stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, a frown on his face, watching the numbers as they went up. His position made Ailis nervous; he seemed angry, tense and angry. Really tense and angry. Walking out shouldn't have made him act like this. He wanted her to come into DC, go into DC and visit Grammy, not be talked to death by some lady.

"Is something wrong with Grammy?"

He didn't answer only let out a sigh, before readjusting his arms.

"She wouldn't be in the ICU if it wasn't serious. But I wouldn't know, because I wasn't given any information..."

"We'll talk once we get up there."

"It's nice and private here. Great place to chat." Every word was bathed perfectly in sarcasm as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Ailis, really not now; I don't know if she's awake yet." Seeley brought his forefinger and thumb together to pinch the bridge of his nose as he tried to stay calm.

"Awake? What did they put her under or something?"

"No," he swallowed, why someone wasn't going to get on so that Ailis wouldn't be asking these questions, "She's been sleeping a lot."

"What did they do?" she turned to him, even at 5'7" to his six feet she still scared him with her gaze. It seemed as a teenager she had giving dirty looks down to a science.

"Ailis not now."

The doors opened revealing a semi-deserted hallway; ahead a chicken wire enforced glass wall separated what Ailis guessed was the ICU from the germ infested 'normal' hospital outside its doors. As Seeley worked on getting them into the unit, Ailis looked over the signs talking about the dangers of swine flu, that she should ask for a surgeon's mask if she had a runny nose and some other thing concerning the health of the patients and staff, glancing through the grafted glass she saw a blond woman sitting by herself, her back to the doors.

"Come on." The doors shook open, making a seal cracking noise as Ailis and Seeley entered. The woman looked up at the sound of the doors, turning; she saw who she was waiting for.

"Found the guest of honor?" she asked attempting to make a joke. Ailis gave a polite grin but Seeley cracked up over it.

"Ailis, this is my girlfriend Hannah." He still had the same annoyed tone as he did in the elevator.

"Hey Ailis." the woman stuck out her arms inviting Ailis in for a hug, "I'm so sorry that we have to meet under these circumstances."

"Same here." Ailis stated softly as she leaned into the strange woman's arms, she probably should have stayed with the talkative Angela at the museum and be hammered by questions. Though when Hannah's hand went to go make a comforting pat on the back, Ailis jumped out of the embrace and immediately changed topics.

"Is Grammy awake yet?" the two adults exchanged glances; Seeley gulped before he opened his mouth, but closed it.

"Well Ailis, the thing about that is Paige had to get some operations done so that she could be more comfortable." Ailis's eyes flashed from Seeley to Hannah. Why was she answering for him? And why was her tone as if she was explaining the situation to a small child?

"And these are?" Ailis crossed her arms again and stood stiffer.

"Um, they put a... feeding tube in, and..." Uncomfortable with Ailis's defensive stature and pissed off look on her face, Seeley rubbed the back of his neck, "They had to um, give her a tracheostomy."

Ailis looked away for a moment before she gave a small laugh at Seeley, "They don't give her a tracheostomy it's what the operation is called."

"Yea." He nodded at her sudden laughter, a bit put off by it.

"So you just made all these decisions by yourself? That just because you're the oldest child, though you've only spent like what seven years of your life with her," Ailis's arms flew up from her sides, making her words seem to have more venom behind them as her hands moved through the air, "That you get to make the decisions? How the hell would you know what she wanted?"


	12. American Prince

_The Dustland Fairytale beginning  
With just another white trash county kiss in '61  
Long brown hair and foolish eyes

* * *

_

**October 17, 1979**

The small bundle in her arms struggled slightly, giving out a soft mew, as the cab came to a stop in the wide, open, rural area. The man looked to one of the only houses on the street, the woman had just given birth, and that much he could tell from the new born in her arms and the tired look in her eyes. Though what concerned him was that this little lady had told him that she didn't have a husband, which shocked him. She seemed to be the perfect image of a house wife, she had her hair back, a pair of pearl earrings in and a dress on even with the October chill .As he shifted into park the young woman cuddled the bundle closer to her chest.

Her daughter, she had been waiting for her for nine long, agonizing months; months that she felt the fear the most for her and her unborn child. Keira, her daughter was what made her mind up. She was the deal breaker for her. She wouldn't go back, not after seeing how innocent and beautiful her daughter looked in her arms, never seeing violence. The cabby behind them, with a cigarette hanging out the corner of his mouth, popped the trunk and took out the lone suitcase. The young woman turned to see him ready to bring her luggage up; with child in arm she started towards the house.

"Gosh, who is knocking at this hour." a man stumbled through his kitchen in a wife beater and flannel pajama pants, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. As he neared the back door he saw the silhouette of what appeared to be a hunchback. "Pranksters always coming around at all hours. Dumb delinquents." he grumbled as he slammed the door open.

"Hey Daddy."

* * *

_He'd look just like you'd want him to  
Some kind of slick chrome American prince

* * *

_His little girl was sitting at the table with a little girl of her own. Like an intruder she came in the middle of the night. It had been months since he had last seen her.

April, a little bit before Easter, Seeley and Jared had been playing in the back yard; Seeley holding a stick pretending to be shooting something, while Jared followed him around in a slight daze copying Seeley's action like all younger brothers did. Abel hadn't been there, Paige for the past few visits had been claiming he was working extra hours, but he highly doubted it.

The man that he had given his little girl to had changed. The nice college bound boy he had met only ten years earlier had changed into an irresponsible drunk. Even before April he saw the signs of his daughter's marriage going down hill, but she claimed that it was good as ever. But the high necked dress she had been wearing that day didn't cover the aged yellow bruises on her chest.

In the living room, he heard his wife cooing over the infant, from the look of his granddaughter she had been in the world for only a few days. Tiny and new looking. His baby girl however looked tired, aged beyond her years and undeniably sad.

"Have you seen the boys?"

"No, it's been a very long time since I've seen them."

"He came around looking for you. Your mother and I were terrified that something had happened to you." He remembered the day that the old pickup was sitting outside his house, Abel didn't look like the most sober driver in the world but he let his son in law go.

"Nothing happened, just Keira." She smiled, though her eyes held a different emotion, as she readjusted her hands on the glass of water in front of her.

"You should have told us."

"He would have just apologized like before and then it would have gotten worse."

"How long?" his grip on his own glass was beginning to get tighter.

"Have you seen the boys?"

"No, I tried driving into town, but he wouldn't let me in," Nathan shook his head angrily; "He stank of liquor."

He looked down as he heard Paige let out a choked sob.

"Your momma and I would love if you stayed with us for a while."

"Thanks Daddy."

* * *

_Saw Cinderella in a party dress, she was looking for a nightgown.

* * *

_

**March 2, 1980**

Paige looked up from the lunch counter of Glenn Dale's Good Luck Diner and Grocer, she saw Keira turn around in her height chair, fist in mouth, staring intently at a shadowed man at the door. Keira now had a reputation of being the people part of the Good Luck Diner team, always smiling and giggling when she was there. Looking around Paige tried to find a menu for the man who was walking towards the restaurant portion of the building.

"Today we got two specials, a Pot Pie dinner that comes with a small desert or we have a Steak Tip dinner that also comes with a desert." Paige gave the little speech as she placed the menu down at the farthest end of the counter and started rummaging for a place setting.

"Paige I'm not here for something to eat." She froze in her position below the cabinet. It had been almost a year since she had heard that voice.

"Come on now, we aren't gonna be playing games no more. The boys and I want you to come home." Slowly with the mention of her two other children she stood to look at her husband. Unlike the last time she had seen him he looked a bit sober, though his clothes were wrinkled and she could smell the beer on him; looking down to Keira who was banging a rattle against the counter top.

"Abel please just go."

"What you say to me?" this was the tone of voice that she remembered, the loud, angry and slightly slurred accent.

"I want you to go."

"I'm not going until you come home with me. I got the boys in the car, they want their momma back and I want my wife back." He leaned across the counter, reaching for her hand. Though she pulled back, as she heard Keira give an annoyed cry, both Abel and her looked at the baby.

"Who's that?"

"Keira," she looked at his face and saw the 'I want a better answer' look, "My daughter."

"So that's why you left, another man." His posture got defensive as he looked between Paige and their daughter.

"No, I left, I left," she swallowed she couldn't get her voice out, "I left for Keira, I wasn't going to have her grow up with you as her father." She rushed down to the exit from behind the counter, attempting to lift Keira out of her seat, though she struggled with the buckles that kept her in place.

Before Abel could any more angry words or hits on his wife, the back screen door squeaked open.

"Paige, how much do we have of the…" her father's fist clenched as the assistant that they hired shuffled away with a box of corn and other vegetables. "You get away from her now!" his voice erupted and the tiny whimpers that Keira had been letting out since Abel had came into the store turned into wails. Rushing with the last buckle she pulled Keira to her chest before she hastily went back behind the counter.

"Get out now Abel."

"I'm not leaving without Paige."

"Well she isn't leaving with you. I'm not gonna let you lay a hand on my daughter again."

"She's my wife."

"Andy go call the sheriff, say we have a difficult customer." Abel watched as the assistant ran off in the direction of the back room. "This is your last chance to leave without being in hand cuffs."

"You ain't seein' the boys again." He looked between Paige and Nathan before turning and trudged out the door. "Screw that slut." He mumbled as he stomped back to his truck, defeated at bringing his wife back to his home. Behind him Nathan started but was stopped by the teenage assistant who held back his shoulders.

"Mr. Brown, he's not worth it."

"If you ever, ever, come near my daughter or my granddaughter again, I swear able I will break your neck." He stood in the doorway, the screen door bounced against the exterior wall as the two men stared each other down. Abel looked between Nathans pointed finger, a window of the diner that showed Paige bouncing Keira on her hip, and behind him to his truck, where his oldest son looked on at the scene with curiosity. An angry frown formed on his face, wrinkling his eyebrows and giving a mean squint to his eyes.

His offer to his daughter changed from a while to until that bastard husband of hers died.

As Keira gave another wail into Paige's shoulder she tried calming her with whispered words, "It's alright baby, he isn't gonna come back."

* * *

_I saw the devil wrapping up his hands; he's getting ready for the showdown.  
I saw the minute that I turned away; I got my money on a pawn tonight.

* * *

_

"Daddy, why was that man yelling at you?" Jared had only heard the threat that his grandfather had shouted.

"Boys I told ya' to be quiet!" He roared as he dramatically pulled out of the parking lot and turned back onto the road.


	13. Fine Times in the SUV

_Back from the Flashback…_

_"So you just made all these decisions by yourself? That just because you're the oldest child, though you've only spent like what seven years of your life with her," Ailis's arms flew up from her sides, making her words seem to have more venom behind them as her hands moved through the air, "That you get to make the decisions? How the hell would you know what she wanted?"

* * *

_The resident really, really didn't know how to deal with this. He could take care of someone with cancer, help someone who was having a seizure, hell he could perform surgery in some of the most dangerous parts to operate on in the human body, but family matters. Oh gosh way out of his league. The family of Paige Booth seemed to be in the middle of a battle, earlier it had only been and Ms. Booth's son. Though the teenage girl was a mystery to him, even with the fighting he still had to deliver the news, Ms. Booth was awake from the surgery and Mr. Booth could see her when he was ready, or well not battling it out.

"Why the hell didn't you call me?" Ailis screeched. She was only about two feet away from Seeley with her finger pointed, but before any real family dispute could go down, the resident coughed.

"Paige Booth's family?" He said hesitantly, he didn't know if they wanted to continue the drama or not.

Seeley and Ailis looked over simultaneously, an apparent signal that they were in fact Paige Booth's family.

"Well, she's stable right now; the surgeries went well both were very simple. But she's still a little groggy from the meds. So you might want to wait a few hours before you go in and visit, especially with tracheotomy, it will take some time to get used to talking again." _Or they could finish world war three before they visit her,_ he thought as he looked up from the clipboard, that didn't even have the stats of Ms. Booth on them.

"Thanks Doc, when do you think we should come in again?" With this Ailis looked between Seeley and the Doctor anxiously, _I want to see her now!_

"Visiting hours end at seven, so I would say, its twelve now, that you might want to come in around four. So she gets a little rest and talks to our physical therapist."

"Thanks again, we'll get out of your hair now." The resident smiled awkwardly as Seeley grabbed his coat. As they left the room, Ailis straggled behind a bit to give the resident a dark glare.

The elevator ride up had been extremely uncomfortable, a barely known uncle reprimanding a teenage niece, which never went well even if it was the parents, though now he had something to be really mad about. Ailis had caught his eyes for a moment as she entered the elevator, and the slight anger in them made her jumpy; each time the elevator dinged with each approaching floor she jumped, ready for something to happen.

The walk out of the building and into the parking garage had been taking a step higher than uncomfortable; the heels of Ailis's boots the only noise that echoed through out the parking garage, an eerie reminder of a horror movie scene. However now Ailis had the chance to say that being in a pin drop silence car was what was making her on edge. She had chosen to sit behind Seeley, so she wouldn't have to see his eyes in the rear view mirror. But even with her eyes watching pedestrians outside, she could feel their reflective gaze on her when ever there was a red light.

"Ailis, have you had lunch yet?" Seeley looked up into the rearview mirror, trying to see the teen's answer.

"Not yet." Ailis was still staring out the window, avoiding Seeley's line of sight..

"I think I can heat up some left overs."

"I'll eat anything, basically."

For several moments the cabin had returned to its silent state. Though a ring, that made Ailis jump; Seeley interrupted the old, old rock song that was playing as he opened his phone.

Before he even got the phone to his ear he heard Angela, "Booth! Hey have you found her?"

"Yea, Angela I've got her." He looked up into the rearview, and saw Ailis tense with the words.

"Can you put her on?"

"Ailis can you take the phone?" He looked over his shoulder, in an awkward position trying to pass his phone onto Ailis, with the phone being dangled in front of her she looked at it slightly confused.

"Hello?"

"If you were really that bored you really could have just said it to my face." _Blunt that's nice._

"Um, wow, straight to the point."

"Yea, sweetie, I don't know you, if I knew all you wanted to do was just chill and brood, I would have taken you to my place."

"Oh, sorry." She looked down at her left hand, which was picking at the bottom hem of her sweater.

"It's fine. Can I talk to Booth now?" _Really, really straight to the point._

"Seeley or me?"

"Tall, muscley one." On the other line, Angela smiled as she muttered 'smart ass' away from the phone.

"Here." She held the phone out to Seeley waving it in his direction.

"Booth?" He answered again.

"Be nice."

"What?"

"Be nice to Ailis." She repeated it slower, maybe now he would understand.

"Okay." He looked to the empty passenger side of the cabin, who had told her of his teenage issue?

"She's sixteen, hormoney, and a lot of crap has happened in the last few days."

"Thanks for the advice."

"It's what I do for Bren, you may not be socially slow, but with a teenage girl your IQ is below sea level."

"Bye Angela." He really didn't want to listen to this.

"Bye Sweetie."

Ailis noticed that the speed of the car was starting to get slower, they were probably close to his apartment now. She looked up at the buildings, for D.C. it gave off a small town feel, though just in the background she could see the skyscrapers and large parking garages.

Turning down what appeared to be an alley way, a parking lot revealed itself, an awning leading from the ground up a small flight of steps and then to the back entrance of the brick building. Pulling into a spot, Seeley turned the key in the ignition and the sound of the engine died down.

It was just the two Booths and silence that could be cut with a knife. _This is going to be fun…_

"So I understand why you left Angela today." Niether of them were looking in each other's direction, Seeley was looking out the window, watching some pigeons eat some old and forgotten food product off of the ground, as Ailis examined the building. Ailis looked up at him through the mirror, it seemed better than to actually be facing him.

"And I understand why you're mad about making the decision for surgery without you." She snorted at this; he didn't have any clue at why she was pissed.

"Especially with all the stress with the previous few days' excitement." Her eyebrow cocked with that one. He really needed to get better at speaking with his family, he was absolutely fine interrogating her when she was a complete stranger but this was just too… unpracticed.

"Do you know how badly this conversation just failed?"

After a moment he turned in his seat to look at her, "Failed?"

"First off, I'm not pissed about the last few exciting days, there's a shit load of other stuff in my life that you have no clue about what's going on. The second fail is," She took a breath and then continued, "Grammy is my word and my word alone."

After a few moments of looking over her face Seeley, just to make sure that is what she was really mad about, turned back around and pulled the keys out of the ignition.

"Now that this is all settled, what's your apartment number?"

"4B."

"Super." She pulled on the handle and leaped from the backseat of the SUV.

After Ailis had left he had sat in the car for several minutes trying to figure out how to peacefully deal with her. Okay, he should tell her the whole story next time, and he shouldn't send her out with the squints, or well until she got to know them slightly. But what worried him was that he didn't have a clue what the 'shit load of other stuff' was. He really needed a 'Dummies Guide to…' book to come along with Ailis, he couldn't be left in the dark and he couldn't keep going to Angela for advice perpetually.

Swiping his hand over his face, Seeley stood inside the elevator. As the doors opened he could see Ailis sitting across the hall from his door. Her profile could have been a perfectly personified picture of teen angst. As he walked to his door, he could hear Ailis stirring behind him.

"Could we skip lunch?" she asked, in a small voice. Sounding slightly afraid to test the Seeley bear.

"Sure." He turned to her as he pushed his door open.

"Um, could I lie down for a bit? Really tired, walking and all."

"Yea, down the hall to the left is a guest room.

The room was just not made for a kid. Yes she knew about the barely shared custody, and for the few days that he spent in here he might have transformed it into something with a bit of character but this was just ech… Tans and browns and other neutral colors filled the room, from the walls, to the carpet, the curtains, and the bedspread. At least the room being hideous was a good distraction for her. _Come back at four, gosh, why they didn't just say 'Never come back?' It would have gotten the same point across. _Flipping herself onto her stomach so that she wouldn't have to continue to stare at the pinkish-brown walls, Ailis let a groan out. It was the waiting that was getting to her. If she was distracted, like at Missy's where she had an unending possibility of children's movies, she wouldn't have to dwell on it for so long. And not dwelling on it meant not having to worry about the future and what Grammy's funeral was going to be like. And if she kept thinking about the future and all its bull shit, a metallic taste entered her mouth and a pressure started to build in her abdomen. _Just don't think about it, what makes you not think? TETRIS!_ Pulling her phone out of her cardigan's dinky little pocket, she navigated her way to the game section and started to organize the brightly colored blocks that appeared on her LED screen.


	14. Just Too Real

_for the hundred or so people who have read up until this chapter im super duper duper sorry for the long wait so i wrote a long chapter to make up for my meaness. as always to see Ailis's parents and outfits and childhood pictures check out my userpage and theyll be a link there. and so enjoy and review._

~meg

* * *

The church was crowded; basically anyone who had ever visited Good Luck Diner and Grocer in the last twenty years seemed to be there. Even though she hadn't been alive when her great grandparents store had been open she knew how much it had affected her family's life. Her mother would never have met her father, she wouldn't be sitting in the pew and her mother wouldn't be dead and the other two Booths wouldn't have come into her life. She looked around at the people coming to their seats. She recognized a lot of her class mates, her mother's co-workers; the people who would usually turn up to a funeral.

Readjusting on the pew Ailis attempted to recognize the church; the inside didn't seem to match any of the churches in Glenn Dale's surrounding area. The walls were white washed, something that was slightly common for churches to have, though there wasn't a piano or anything else other than an altar.

Organ music, something she didn't expect, started playing making Ailis jump at its sudden appearance. In the background though, as the notes started to be played down in a lower register, she could hear the door close and then footsteps. She half expected her father to be waltzing in or another one of her mother's old co-workers. Though as she looked among the full pews she saw Mitchell sitting several rows behind her staring straight ahead with her other set of grandparents, who she still awkwardly called Mr. and Mrs. Deming. She pulled her attention back to the casket as the organ player held the last few notes of the song; Ailis had too many things running around in her head right now.

'_Who's in there? You're at the funeral, in the family pew, yet you don't know whose funeral it is…nice.'_

Ailis heard heels clicking on the wooden floor; the music had ended, leaving the sanctuary eerily quiet.

'_Why isn't the priest starting the service with the 'we are gathered here today…' crap?'_

"Can I sit here?" she knew that voice, even after so long, she could always tell who it belonged to.

"Mom?" excitedly Ailis turned her head only to see her mother's face half decomposed; green and dying flesh revealing her teeth and jaw bone.

She shrank away from her mother's hand, which like her face had been rotting for some time. Ailis fell off the pew, attempting to escape having to touch the dead flesh, though she received an odd look from the guests and her mother's corpse.

"Sweet heart, why aren't you happy?" Keira's eyes or what was left of them, showed hurt, "You wanted me back, you wanted to know what happened to me."

Advancing on her daughter, Keira was walking in her heels clumsily, as if she had just started walking for the first time in years. Ailis half in shock of her mother being at the ceremony and half in shock over her mother practically being a zombie, was crabbing walking on her arms to get away. She could smell the stench of something dead, ten times worse than passing a dead skunk on the highway. Squeezing her eyes shut she tried to block out what was happening, _'It had to be a dream, not real, not real, and there isn't anything logical at all so it can't be real. JUST WAKE UP!' _Suddenly along with her mother's voice calling out Ailis, came a chorus of people in the pews. Looking up from her spot on the floor she saw everyone making their way to create a circle around her, all the while calling out 'Ailis' and staring at her. As less and less space was between her and the mob's shoes she pressed her hands to her ears, wanting to block them out, but their calls only came louder, sounding harsher.

_

* * *

_

These wounds won't seem to heal

_This pain is just too real

* * *

_

"Ailis." He called again, receiving only a small sign of life when she rolled slightly and covered her head with her fore arm.

"Come on kiddo, wakey, wakey!" he used a nice loud and cheery voice with some help from the over head light to get a better response.

"Ummmmmmmmmm…" her head lifted up only a few inches off of the pillow, her eyes were unfocused though she blinked a few times and then turned her head to look at Seeley.

"We're going to be leaving in a few." He pointed behind him. Looking behind him she saw the hallway was dimmer than when she had entered, probably late. "We're going to go visit umm Mom." Seeley looked away awkwardly; he still wasn't used to saying that word.

"Yea give me a few, I'll be up. Just got to stretch," she sat up with those words and felt some of her bones start to click themselves into place, "Do you know the time?"

"Yea, it's around four now."

"Thanks." She gave him a nod and waited for him to leave. For a moment they both were just in the room, unease hanging in the air between them.

"I'll let you wake up." He nodded and backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. As soon as the door closed, melodramatically Ailis slammed back down onto the bed, attempting to block out the images of her mother.

* * *

Throaty breathes were common in the ICU, combined with the continues hum of ventilators it created a white noise affect to the staff; though to visitors it was unsettling especially when your loved one's room was filled with what sounded to be croaks. Subconsciously Ailis sped up and headed towards Grammy's sliding door, Seeley though stayed at his pace, even though he wish he could rush into his mother's room like Ailis. One of them had to be the adult in the situation.

Getting closer to the door he could see where Ailis had stopped her sprint; she was perched next to the side of the door, a nurse was going through the various wires and tubes that were attached to Paige.

"I'll be done in a minute sweetheart, than Paige can test out the techniques the therapist taught her." Ailis nodded, not hearing the words that the nurse had said, but concentrating on the slightly pained looking on her Grammy's face.

Though when she noticed where her granddaughter's eyes where she turned the grimace into a grin, not fake though she was truly happy to see her after such a long period of time away from each other. Two days was long for them. Seeley stood outside the door; Paige noticed his appearance and also gave him a gentle smile. He painfully turned his lips up into a small grin, it was to hard to get her back and to have her leaving in the next moment.

"Well, Paige if you need anything, you can send one of your lovely visitors down to the nurse's station or you can use the call button." The sound of her happy voice was not greatly appreciated by Ailis, though the nurse's exit was. They shouldn't sugar coat the fact that one of the woman who raised her was going to die soon.

"Hey Grammy."

"Ailis." The voice was raspier and harder than what it had been a few days ago, yes over the last few months her voice sounded like a thirty year pack a day smoker, but this was impressively low.

"You look really good. Well, the tubes play well with the blue in your eyes." Joke, show that your okay, come on Ailis, she's dying and she can smile!

"Well, its one of those special things you gotta request."

"Never know when the paparazzo is gonna pop up on you."

"Always prepared." Grammy winked at her as she sat across from her on the window sill.

"Ninja skills Grammy." Seeley laughed at that one. The bantering even in this situation, made his mood lift a little.

"Seeley come in. You came to visit, now visit." Her mother patted the bed underneath her, as if he could crawl up and fit on the bed with her.

"You look a lot better than you did the other day, Mom."

"Well I can breathe now dear." She laughed, or more rasped, "So what have you kids been up to?"

"He has a girlfriend." Ailis even added the finger point to the sentence making it slightly more childish.

"And I've met Hannah, she's very nice."

"I guess."

"Well, how 'bout of a non fighting subject. So let's get down to business; funeral plans." Paige liked to get to the point, and she knew Ailis was going to beat around the bush as long as she could.

Both Seeley and Ailis froze, her hands gripped the sleeves of her cardigan and Seeley hanged his head, letting a sigh come out.

"Well we can't beat around the bush. It's going to happen. I know what's going on with my health. Doctors do talk to their patients."

"What about Mom?"

* * *

There's just too much that time cannot erase  
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone

* * *

"Well, they're probably not done with the investigation. I haven't had a formal interview with an agent yet. So she can be buried with me. " Ailis nodded, she looked into the hallway and then to the foot of Paige's bed.

"Grammy do you know if they have a vending machine or something close by?"

"I would ask one of the nurses."

"Do you need some money?" Seeley was already half way reaching to his back pocket.

"Uh," she looked up to Paige and then to Seeley, "Only a couple."

"Here." Fishing around in his pocket, he dug out his wallet and then opened it to reveal to Ailis five dollars.

"Thanks." She shuffled off, feeling slightly awkward for asking for money from a guy that she had known for only four days.

* * *

"What could have caused the wounds on the exterior of victim four's lower legs and thighs?" Cam was standing next to a crouched Wendell who was staring rather intently at the slightly skinned and decomposed legs of the victim.

"From the damage to the skin and what is left of the muscle tissue it seems that the skin and the flesh were being separated." In his mind though Wendell was finishing with a little more detail; like when the take the skin off of a fish, the skin and the meat being separated…

"Wendell….. Wendell…. Wendell…." His head shook as he brought his focus back onto telling Cam something useful, turning his head to look up at Cam he felt his neck crack at the odd angle, "What could they have used?"

"Well it seems that the killer was attempting to separate the skin from the muscle and tissue underneath," he swallowed and boldly went where no intern had gone before, "It reminds me of how you would de-bone a fish."

"So what could have been used to do that?" For the time she had spent in the Jeffersonian nothing surprised Cam anymore, except when her FBI partner's dead sister was discovered to be one of her victims.

"A thin knife, more specifically for this a delicate chef's knife, it would take a lot of precision to get the cuts that have been made." He stood hearing his knees popping as he came up to his full height.

"Why does it sound like you guys are talking about a deli?" Looking at the victim on the table Angela got her answer, "Don't answer that. But I have the sketches of the other victims as well." She handed a stack of papers to a now de-gloved Cam; as she examined the pictures she noticed that a few of Keira's extra sketches had been put in.

"Angela we already have identified Keira and have her sketch, we don't need these."

"No those are victims six and two." Angela could tell the minute differences between the victim's almost identical faces.

"I've got to call Sweets."

"How is she?"

"Ailis?" There were a lot of 'she's' in Seeley's life.

"No my other granddaughter." Paige's voice was still throaty but he still caught the light sarcasm in it.

"She's been quiet. Not really excited about spending time with me."

"She just met you. She'll warm up to you," After a moment of staring off Paige's eyes came back to focus on Seeley, "I'm going to have to call her father."

"Mitch?"

"She told you about him?" Didn't he just say that his niece didn't like him?

"No, he called the house the day before you came in."

Still living in the same small towns that both Mitch and Keira had grown up in meant that Paige still had to see her granddaughters other set of grandparents, "He must have heard about Keira."

"Where does he live?"

"In Boston, he lives with his wife and son, Leo. Cute kid." This gave Seeley the notion that 'Mitch' had replaced the two women in his life.

"He doesn't see Ailis a lot?"

"Ailis doesn't see him. When he comes down she just makes excuses to stay away from him or she starts a fight." This was the first slightly bad thing he had heard Paige say about Ailis, other than her teen-ish attitude.

"Did he and Keira ever want to get married?"

"He did, bought a ring before he found out that Keira was pregnant with Ailis. Second he found out he proposed." Now some things were cleared up. "He was going to wait until she graduated but, it seemed better to do it then."

"So Keira didn't want to get married?" He knew about mother's wanting to raise their kids on their own, no matter how much easier it would be if they would let the fathers help.

"No. Straight out refused, broke his heart, cleared up his brain. He went to school next semester and neither of them had looked back." The story seemed to have been told many times, Paige saying it almost from a script.

Seeley nodded. "Know how that feels."

"Seems to me that I passed down the illegitimate children gene," she laughed and looked to Seeley for a moment before turning the conversation on its head, "Is your father still alive?"

He had been waiting for this question. The chit chat was out of the way and it seemed now was the time to get down to the hard stuff. Swallowing before he answered, he looked down at his shoes, "No, 2000, Liver failure; big surprise." Her eyes sank down to her hands and it seemed that she was relieved over the news but it also weighed her down. "Pops is still around though. Me and Jared stayed with him after I turned 14."

"That's good. He raised you two good. Better job than I would have done."

"No, because to me it looks like you did a damn good job raising Keira and Ailis."

"She was a lot like you. Until she was around 12, when she started to wear dresses willingly, I was convinced that she was really a boy. Loved guns, war, the whole nine yards of it."

"I think that's just a Booth thing." He laughed.

"Gosh I think the only reason why she didn't join the army after high school was Ailis. Once she saw her she didn't want to let her go."

"I would have loved to meet her." From the smiles that he had seen in pictures and the small amount of information his mother had told him about her the other night, it seemed that even not growing up with their father she still had a personality like his.

"Gosh if she had met you boys…"Paige brought her hand up to under her eye and wiped at the few tears that had come out, "Well, just for my peace of mind and to say we got some sort of planning down we don't have to have a big shindig, something small. No church needed, just the funeral home and then to the cemetery."

"You're still catholic right?" He did see Ailis in a white poofy dress that meant she had gotten her first communion; why wouldn't the woman who instilled religion into the two generations of Booths that she had raised not want to be buried the nice catholic way?

"Who took you to church every Sunday Seeley Booth?"

He through up his hands in a defensive stance, laughing, "Okay, okay I get it."

_

* * *

_

_But though you're still with me  
__I've been alone all along_

* * *

**~my immortal; evanescence...  
****the lyrics are telling you to review...**

* * *

"Ailis." Seeley was standing in the doorframe of the guest bedroom, staring at Ailis's back and very confused on how to wake a teenager up properly. He wanted to leave early so that they wouldn't get caught in the traffic that the newest rain shower was going to create.


	15. I Can't Feel This

_oh my goodness oh my goodness, a new chapter! well i finally dragged this out of the creative side of my brain, and well here it is. i really want reviews, criticism is accepted, i have balls to take it. ;) back from the awkwardness of that sentence. please review. and im going to put up a poll of what song should be played at the funeral. great! oh and check out the updated photobucket as well._

_~meg_

_review. the link has been fixed and here it is as well. minus the spaces._

photobucket . com / home / gnomexmeg

* * *

"What is the full extent of the injuries?"

"There is damage to the muscle and surrounding tissue in both of the arm sockets, a sign that the victim's arms had to bear the full weight of their body." Wendell answered; he was ready at moments notice for Dr. Brennan's quizzing on the victims.

"In which direction is there more damage?" she already knew, she had stayed hours longer than necessary to study the bones to the point that she could tell what injury had been caused by the murderer and what the victims had unintentionally done to themselves.

"More damage is on the top of the socket, as if the victim had been hanging from their arms."

"Is this pattern seen in the other four victims?"

"Yes."

"What other patterns have you've witness between the victim's injuries?"

Wendell swallowed, there were a lot of little injuries that were a trend among the victims, "Also seen among the victims is that at the base of the skull there is a fracture, the amount of damage varies, with only two of the victims receiving blows which would cause serious injury."

"What could have caused the injury?"

"When I examined the most recent victim I found particles of what appeared to be cement, I sent a sample over to Hodgins to examine."

"Good, do you concur that you have learned everything that you could from the victims flesh?"

"I concur."

"You may begin the flesh removing process."

"Thank you Dr. Brennan."

A man with a tailored suit was standing at the bottom of the evidence platforms stairs, waiting for her, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. She knew who he was, Special Agent Luke Walker, the agent who was going to be replacing Booth for this case. When she had told Hodgins and Wendell his name both had almost burst into laughter; Wendell had excused himself to a hallway while Hodgins stood at his station with a manic grin.

They had never been formally introduced so Luke was going off of the rumors at the Hoover building, that Brennan was a pain in the ass, but a very helpful one at that. But with her reputation he wasn't expecting someone so… attractive to be the forensic anthropologist that the FBI leaned on for their evidence.

"Dr. Brennan, I'm Special Agent Luke Walker. I'm the agent who will be working this case." He stuck out his hand, doing the most polite thing in a situation like this.

"Nice to meet you." After an extremely short hand shake she started to walk away to her office.

"Dr. Brennan I was wondering if you had any helpful information pertaining to the case."

"I've sent all the files to your office."

"Yea, but I want to know what everything means."

"There are drawings included in the files."

"Yes, I saw the pretty pictures but I need help understanding what type of equipment would be needed to cause the damage. I need help with getting a lead."

"When we have more information we'll contact you." When she first started working with Seeley she didn't remember him being so whiney. When did FBI agents become so annoying?

"Can you at least translate for me what you have so far?"

Brennan sighed; she hated breaking in new agents. She needed someone who was experience.

"All the victims have injuries on the base of their skulls; we haven't determined what the cause of injury is though. Also they were all hanged by their arms, straining and in two cases dislocating the victim's arms. Each victim's skin was also skinned off up until the upper thigh."

"So we have a serial killer."

"Well who else killed their victims in the same fashion and then hanged them in a tree?"

As Dr. Brennan left in annoyed strut, Luke let out an annoyed grumbled, "Squints." Like Brennan's reputation, the FBI slang word had also gotten around the Hoover building.

* * *

"Paige, I'm sorry but your visitors are going to have to leave, visiting hours are going to be over soon." Paige smiled at the nurse and then gave out a hoarse 'thank you' as she left.

"We'll head home; have you get some rest Mom." Seeley stood from the visitors chair he had been occupying, stretching his back in the process of grabbing his coat.

"Thank you." Ailis stood awkwardly from her curled up position in a large chair and started to shrug on her jacket. "Ailis, can I say something before you go?"

Seeley caught the slight hint of wanting to talk to Ailis alone, "I'm going to go talk to the nurse real quick." Paige gave him a smile before he exited the room, watching him shuffle over to the nurse's station, trying to seem like he had something to do.

"Hey."

"Hi." Ailis looked around the room awkwardly, trying to find a place to fix her eyes; at this moment she didn't feel like having a heart to heart with Grammy. Even though there had been a polite conversation going on before, she felt it was going to be on a different, more personal topic than the TV show _Cash Cab._

"You doing okay?"

"Just a bucket full of sunshine and unicorns."

"Now tell me what you're really feeling."

She sighed, she shouldn't bitch about anything. She wasn't the one dying, or dead. She was alive and perfectly healthy…And now losing the two women that raised her. She didn't have anything to complain about.

"It's fine really, just a little weird, knowing about Mum."

"Yea, lots of things happening…"

"I miss you." Though before Paige could get another word in Ailis jumped up from her spot on the side of the bed, "Well I'll let you sleep. I'll go find Seeley." Quickly she bent down to kiss Paige's forehead.

"So after she's been stable longer we're going to move her down to the hospice associated with the hospital."

"Thanks. So when do you think that will happen?"

"Probably Tuesday. Latest Wednesday, but you'll talk with her Doctor before she leaves and then the Social Worker will coordinate with you on your future plans."

"Thanks," Seeley glance down to the pin on her purple teddy bear scrubs, "Cheryl."  
"No problem Mr. Booth." She walked over to a phone on the opposite side of the nurses station that had been ringing for a few minutes, she looked around for a clip board and started to read off stats.

"We're good to go." He turned to find Ailis behing him, jacket in, bag on shoulder, she seemed ready to soldier on.

"Great. Let's hit the road."

"Hey Al, it's me, Dad. I'm going to be heading down in a few days. My mom told me about Grammy. I really want to be there with you. I'll call you when I get down. Call me back when you get this, love you." *Beep* the ladies voice now came through the receiver asking Ailis if she wanted to hear the message again, pressing the end button she made her decision. She had had plenty of other messages in the form of texts, from Connor or Missy or random people from school, all wanting to know homework assignments or why she wasn't at practice. _Practice, shit._

"Shit." Seeley looked away from the road for a moment to glance over to his niece who had been silent the whole ride.

"What?" Then Ailis noticed him.

"Yea?" she looked over at him, obviously a little ticked that being the only other passenger in the car meant that he was talking to her.

"You just said something."

"I did?"

"Shit."

"Shit what?" Ailis looked ahead at the road, assuming a helpless old lady was in their way and there was no possible way to avoid hitting her.

"No that's what you said."

"Oh," _Aren't I retarded?_ "I thought I had said that in my head."

"Its fine, I narrate my life sometimes to."

"Okay." She laughed to herself, adding an eye roll as Seeley returned his gaze to the DC streets.

"So your dad left you a message." _Gosh WHY is he continuing the conversation?_

_Be polite and answer._ "Yup." _I'll be able to avoid him with sleep soon._

"You don't see him a lot?" _No shit Sherlock…_

"Nope."

"Um, Mom told me that he lived in Boston."

"Yea, Cambridge."

"Classy."

"I know." She scoffed, compared to the cramped one family home that the Booth women had been renting for almost 9 years her father's town house seemed to be a mansion, or that's what it appeared to be in the pictures she had been sent some years earlier.

"So you guys don't get along?"

"And what gives you that idea?" _Once again, Sherlock._

"Oh just you know; stuff."

"Umhmm stuff… very clear, is it that I sound pissed off during this conversation or that I almost broke my jaw when I was listening to his voice mail? No, I know what stuff is. That three minute, heated conversation I had with him. Was that the stuff you were referring to?"

"Nailed it." Seeley didn't know how uncomfortable an angry teenage girl made him; he was wow, slightly nervous.

"So yes, we don't get along."

"From the two sentences I said to him he seemed nice."

"Just because he 'seems' nice, it doesn't mean that I have to like him."

"He's your dad."

"And well did you like your dad; the guy that drove your mother away by drinking too much and beating her?"

Seeley tensed up with that. So she knew about that. Readjusting himself and gripping the steering wheel a little tighter he attempted to end the conversation, for both their sakes.

"That's what I thought."

"You know, I really think that's none of your business." She had to keep going didn't she?

"Well we are family aren't we? What happens when I have to do a report on my family history? Well my mom never met him, Grammy's going to be dead soon…"

"Don't say that."

"What? That the woman who raised me is dealing with stage four thyroid cancer is slowly dying?" she paused for effect, "Or really meaning that you never get to spend enough time with her, so you don't get to have that _Lifetime_ moment where the last thirty years just dissolves away?"

"Ailis."

"Don't like hearing the truth?"

"I would appreciate it if you…"

"What didn't just say it like it is?"

"I would appreciate if you didn't act like you're the only person who's losing someone here." He ground out, his knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel.

Ailis stayed quiet with that one, though that didn't stop Seeley.

"Yea did you get such a big shock such as seeing your mother the first time in years, knowing that she was safe and what really happened to her? Then just have her ripped from you. I don't get a chance to really get over what happened. I have to be an adult and accept what she did and just be here for her."

"I did."

"What?" he slammed on the breaks in time to manage not hitting the silver Prius in front of them, though it still caused both of them to slam foreword with some force.

"I found out that my mother was murdered by a serial killer and hanged in a tree; and now I have to deal with that pile of shit with Grammy finally kicking the bucket after I had to watch her slowly dying in front of me for a year." She took a breath, Seeley thought it was the end of the tirade but no, it was going to get much worse. They were too much alike with this wordy-speech business. "Now I also have to deal with the fact that I'm going to have nowhere to live, both of the people who raised me dead. And that I have to deal with the bullshit fatherly act my dad is putting on."

She took another shaky breath, by now Seeley had recovered from the earlier driving incident and had them arrive safely in his building's parking lot. "And coach is going to kill me for missing practice and I'm behind with my English and I was a complete bitch to Angela and Dr. Sweets. And…This is so fucked up." She let out a frustrated shriek as she felt the start of the long held in tears start to slip out. _I wasn't supposed to do this. I don't deserve to feel like this. Nothing bad happened to my body, I wasn't murdered or choking on a tumor to get a little bit of air into my body. I'm just sitting here in a car with an uncle that she had just met practically a week ago, crying my eyes out because I'm weak._

The second that the rambling had started to come out in between gasps Seeley unbuckled himself and jumped out of the car, rushing to the passenger door.

"Ailis," she didn't look up at him as he pulled the door open, "Ailis, can you look at me?"

"I shouldn't," she paused gasping again, looking at Seeley's hands on her forearms, "I shouldn't be doing this, it's stupid."

"Ailis, you can feel like this."

"No, its Grammy that's dying I should be fine and supportive and like, like you. And I'm just, I shouldn't feel like this."


	16. You Do Understand?

_thank god for studies, submitted this in school. now thanks for reading, and to the people who have reviewed (13 at the moment of publishing.) now enjoy, and i also have written hannah out of the early chapters of the story, she IS GONE! MUHAHAHAHA!_

_~meg :D  
_

* * *

"So what's she like?" He was sitting at his desk as Angela sketched next to him on an office chair that she had rolled up from one of the intern's stations.

"Who?" There were a few 'she's' in her life that he could be referring to.

"You know who I'm asking about."

"Ailis?"

Hodgins gave an exasperated cry,"Yes!"

"I really can't tell you."

"What? Did you make some ya ya sisterhood blood pact?"

"No, and I'm going to ignore the fact you know that much plot to a chick flick." Angela's eyes flicked up from her sketch and up to Hodgin's from under her fringe, "She just wasn't comfortable, she was really quiet. But I do know she plays soccer, runs track and that's about it." She pointed her pencil at him from across her clipboard where she was finishing up on yet another sketch of one of the victim's facial reconstructions.

"Did you give her the picture?"

Angela tensed for a moment, the situation would have made the barely there relationship even worse, "No."

"Why not?"

"Because, if asking 'So what do you like to do,' was awkward, than handing her a sketch of her dead mother's face would be even worse."

Hodgins looked off into the distance, as if seeing Ailis's reaction play out in front of him, before giving an exaggerated head nod.

"So what have you found?"

"Well I have to check on my buggies but I do know that each of the victim's was drugged with old school chloroform."

"The sweet smelling stuff?"

"Yea, it's what those black and white movie kidnappers always put on a white hanky so that they can over take their defenseless female victim."

"Oh," she really could have just used a yes to confirm the answer, "Well wouldn't it have deteriorated by the time that we got the victims?"

"No, the most recent victim was killed around three months ago, and in her stomach I found traces of liquid chloroform. You only need a little bit to make a person go wonky, the amount that she had probably put her close to respiratory shock."

"Wow," she paused, letting the new information sink in, "Could it have been an accident?"

"What could have been an accident?" As always Cam appeared to catch Hodgin's before he made a major reveal.

"Victim number five had beyond the normal kidnapping amount of chloroform in her system."

"Which means how much chloroform?" As far as Cam knew, 'kidnapping amount' was not a standard measurement in the scientific world.

"Enough to fill up a quarter of her stomach."

"How long would that take to make somebody go catatonic?"

"Barely two hours."

She walked around the desk to join Hodgins and Angela, to see the actual test results, "Have you looked at the other victim's chloroform levels yet?"

"No I was just going to."

"Well come on, murder to solve."

As Cam walked away and over to some idle interns Angela turned to Hodgins with a a smirk on her face, "Well you heard the woman, honey. Chop, chop."

* * *

"So all the victim's had chloroform in their system when they died?" Walker had been excited when he got a call from the 'squints' or who he was now calling his new favorite people. They had evidence. Something to do investigating on! He wanted to yell 'Can I hear an Amen,' though of course yelling that while being in an multi-billion dollar lab was probably not the most intelligent thing to do.

"Yes, all varying levels though." Hodgins paused before pulling up several documents on the computer, which to Walker looked official enough, "The first victims had levels that were lower than the amount of what would be needed to immobilize women of their sizes. Meaning it had been in their metabolism for a few hours before they…"

"Why did you say first?"

"There were only a few pieces of usable flesh on the victims, the decomposition being speeded up with the removal of the skin, while in the victims whose ETD are closer to the present have higher traces of chloroform in their systems."

"He got excited with the chloroform and they ODed?"

Hodgins really hated explaining what his words meant, "No, he intentionally used more, to the point where he actually force the victim's to drink it."

"What would that do to them?"

"Leave them only a few stages from death. And with the amount of damage that he inflicted it probably didn't take long for them to go into cardiac arrest."

"So with which victim did this change?"

"Keira Booth." Like always in this investigation everything changed with Keira Booth.

"Besides for the stretched out arms and the skinning was there anything different about her then the other victims?" Brennan, who had been brooding in her cave-office most of the work day decided now, would be a nice time to see the progress the team had been making. Swiping her card she made her way up the platform, behind Walker.

"She had barely any chloroform in her system." Couldn't they just spell the answer out for him? It would make his job so much easier.

"So she was alive long enough for it to leave her system?"

"Yes. But her ETD and date of disappearance are the furthest apart out of all the victims."

"So this guy wanted her alive longer than the other victims?"

"We're not certain on that." Walker seemed to jump a mile in his shoes, as he finally realized his 'partner' on this investigation was directly behind him.

"Well it seems like all the evidence is pointing in that direction."

"But we don't have any evidence that clearly states that he was intentionally holding her longer. And that he wanted to." Brennan countered, she was adamant with getting more than enough evidence for a hypothesis.

"Do you always like making life difficult?"

Crossing her arms across her chest she took her defensive stance, "No I want to be sure that we have evidence to win the case."

"There's barely a case, we have five bodies and some weird hanging tree and no suspect to pin it on."

"Though there is a murderer."

"Well no they just did this to themselves." He rolled his eyes. How did Booth do it? This woman though hot, was incredibly socially awkward.

"No, they're dead, and the evidence shows signs of torture, but it doesn't initially show that the killer spent more time with Keira Booth because it was premeditated."

"Well it looks that way." Cam and Hodgins has stepped back long ago when the conversation had first started, they remember these conversations, between an early Booth and Brennan crime fighting duo. Oh those days.

"Just because it looks that way doesn't mean that it's true."

"Fine," he rang out, frustrated that she couldn't just make the case so much simpler, "What does this evidence imply then?"

"That either a smaller amount of chloroform was used in the kidnapping of Keira Booth or her metabolism worked it out of her system quicker."

"Now, I have a date with some Booths."

Those were just the right words to get Brennan out of the lab and out of her brooding mood.

* * *

It had only been fourteen hours since he had last seen his mother, eleven and a half since Ailis had started crying and nine hours since she had grown quiet and had idly gone off to bed. He didn't know what to describe what had happen as; it was a mixture between a break down and a panic attack.

It was obvious that she wasn't dealing with all that was happening very well, anyone in her situation wouldn't be dealing with this well. But it seemed that three years of emotions had been poured out. Dealing with crying teenage girls wasn't the most comfortable thing for a male his age; but he could sit with it and be slightly helpful. But the extent of crying and gasping and incoherent mutterings, ranging from missing homework assignments to the last words she had said to her mother, was just a little beyond his pay grade as a newly named uncle. Though he had stuck it out, and did his best with handing tissues and rubbing his niece's back. It was awkward, but the best that any grown man in his position could do. He had almost opted out to call Angela, or someone with ovaries to come over and talk to Ailis; though some odd part of his gut told him that he needed the practice, it was an educated guess that his shoulder would be cried upon sometime in the near future.

Now he was waiting for his mother and Ailis to finish their conversation, which he had been kindly excluded from. He didn't know what they were discussing, as he still hadn't told Paige about Ailis's night and he really didn't know the relationship between his mother and niece that well.

But he had a billion things he needed to discuss with his mother. What was going on with the hospice situation? Where did she want to be buried? Did she already have a cemetery plot? What was going to happen with Keira, would they just have a memorial service or a combined funeral? Were they going to have Keira's service before she died? What song we're they going to play in her memory? What was he going to do with the house? What was he going to do with Ailis?

* * *

"Yes I understand that this is an ICU ward, but do you also understand that I'm a federal," he stressed the federal, "agent, who carries this weapon for the safety of the citizens of the United States of America?"

"Yes, but you need to understand," she stood a little bit off of her seat, just enough to lean over the counter of the nurses counter, "If germs from that gun kills one of my very sick patients I will personally blame you." The middle aged nurse, who was clearly lacking a good night sleep with the appearance of bags under her eyes and aggressive attitude, squinted her eyes back at Walker.

"I'll take the risk." Brennan had been watching this exchange with amused curiosity as the 'Federal' Agent' and ICU nurse were having a showdown of wills and authority.

"What room is Ms. Booth in?" She of course was still objective, they did need to know where their interviewee would be.

"Room 12, though she already has visitors."

"Who would those be?"

"Her son and granddaughter." The nurse looked between the partners, they should probably know who they were if they were investigating a family member's murder.

Walker straightened his appearance a little bit, straightening his tie and such, "Well they just saved me a trip to Glenn Dale."


	17. Voicemail

_enjoy, sorry for the wait. updated outfits and pictures of characters as well. check my profile for the link. and the link to my tumblr. its not really fanfiction related but just go with it :D_

_~meg_**

* * *

****8: 00 a.m.  
****September 22, 2008**

"Ailis can you listen please," she gave an aggravated sigh as she heard her 14 year old go on about about some parent signature that she needed, "You can have Grammy sign it. They know that she's one of your guardians, it'll be fine. I have to get a lot of stuff done today."

"Grammy's already left for work though. And your closer and," she seemed to have paused for dramatic affect, "Mr. Todd is literally going to fail me if I don't get this signed."

"You said it's for a science project right? He can't fail you if I don't want you playing around with acids or something."

"He says that it doesn't matter, he just wants it signed…"

"Just tell him that Keira Booth, the girl he dated in eighth grade doesn't want her daughter to be playing around with dangerous chemicals with a boy that she knows almost set the middle school on fire."

"Gosh," On the other side of the line Ailis was stomping around the three bedroom home, looking for parts of her middle school's hideous uniform, a navy blue top and navy blue pants, "Mum please just drive home…"

"No, Ailis you're already making me late enough. I have to get in and out of DC during rush hour."

Waiting for her daughter's next snarky reply she decided that the whining was enough.

"You know what," she felt defeated, she was only five minutes from their house but it would be her head if these documents weren't delivered to Mr. Grason's new office, "Stay home today. He can't get made if you weren't there to hand it in. Tell Grammy that I said you could."

"Fine." In the background she could hear the orange juice container be slammed down onto the counter top.

"Now I have to go."

"Bye."

"Love you to Al."

**February 4, 2011**

"You stayed home from school; did you talk with her any other time that day?"

"No, that's why I answered your question of 'when did you last talk to Keira' with it."

"Ailis, let him do his job." Paige reached out to cover her granddaughter's hand, though it was pulled back in an annoyed fashion. She was answered with an eye roll.

"It's fine Miss Booth." Walker gave a charming smile to the elderly patient before returning to the 'routine questions,' "Now they found her car in a rural back road sometime later that day. Why would she have been driving that way if she was late for work?"

"It's the quickest way to the highway," Ailis then thought for a second, "Well more second quickest. She was late, so she went in the fastest way to DC."

"Thank you," he stated as he scribbled something down in his reporter's notebook, "Now, you filed a missing persons report that same day, correct?"

"Yes," Paige took a short breath, her exhale coming out throaty and choked, "A state trooper had found it abandoned on a back road, she had left her phone and paperwork in there."

"But there were no signs of a struggle…"

"That's what we were told."

"We're not CSI we can't look at a car and determined if someone was pulled out of it or not."

"Thank you for sharing that piece of information Ailis." He understood the sarcastic tone, as far as he knew Ailis was both a bitchy female adolescent and dealing with the death of her mother and soon death of her grandmother.

"Well, now her cell phone was found at the crime screen. With several messages on it, indicating she hadn't answered it in a while."

"Generally, when one has messages on their phone someone hasn't answered it in a while." Ailis repeated Walker's sentence, attempting to mock his voice, going down a few octaves attempting to recreate his tone.

"Ailis, why don't you go wait outside with Seeley for a little bit."

"Yea."

**8:45 a.m.  
****September 22, 2008**

Leaning up a bit in her seat she saw that the traffic stretched on for another good twenty minutes of waiting.

"Fuck." She looked into her rearview and checked her chances of her car making out of the traffic jam unscathed, she was just going to have to take the back ways to the high way. There was no way that she was going to get into town on time.

**9:21 a.m.  
****September 22, 2008**

"Hi, you've reached Keira Booth, leave your name and number and I'll get back to you. Message after the beep thanks."

"Keira, were the hell are you? I just checked the traffic reports and you should be here by now." "Mr. Garson would understand if you were here like thirty minutes ago. But this is way too late. Answer this the second you get it."

**10:49 a.m.  
****September 22, 2008**

"Miss Booth?"

"Yes." She drawled out, all she knew was that it was Ailis's school calling, probably to inform her that they had sent her home to change again.

"This is the secretary from Thomas Johnson Middle School; we're calling to know if your granddaughter, Ailis Deming Booth, stayed home today?"

It had been Keira's job this morning to get the newly hormonal Ailis out of bed and off to school, if she kept her home then she kept her home, "Yes, we did." She really was going to have to talk to Ailis about wearing the right uniform to school again; this had to be the third time this year she had gotten a call about Ailis wearing jeans to school over the mandatory navy blue pants.

"Thank you for the information. A reminder also is to write her a note for her return to school."

"Oh yes." _Oh playing hooky are we, well I'll cover your ass this time…_

"Thank you, we attempted to call Keira Booth though we didn't get a response."

"She usually has her phone off during work."

"Yes, we also attempted calling her employer, though they said she hadn't been into the office this morning."

"Oh she had to run some errands this morning. Thank you though."

"You're welcome Ms. Booth. Have a nice day."

"Have a nice day."

**12:16 p.m.  
****September 22, 2008**

"Hi, you've reached Keira Booth, leave your name and number and I'll get back to you. Message after the beep thanks."

"Keira, I know your busy. But why the hell is Ailis still home? Call me back when you get this."

**September 22, 2008  
****3:15 p.m.**

"Hi, you've reached Keira Booth, leave your name and number and I'll get back to you. Message after the beep thanks."

"Keira its Mitch, me and Heath are heading down to visit my parents for a few days. I've got some news to tell Ailis. If it would be alright if I took her for the weekend it would be great. Give me a call back. Thanks."

**4:56 p.m.  
****September 22, 2008**

"Ailis Danielle Booth, you better get your butt down here now!"

Above the squeaky door that opened Ailis's room to the upstairs hallway slammed open and then her footsteps could be heard on the carpeted stairs. Paige turned, arms crossed over her chest with an annoyed face. Her defiant little grandbaby was going to get it.

"You skipped."

"Mom told me to!"

"She did," Paige drew out the words, as if they were the most ludicrous things she had uttered from her mouth.

"Mr. Lawrence was going to fail me if she didn't sign a few forms, and she said she didn't have time to come home so she told me to stay home."

"Really?"

"No lie, and then she started going on about the time that Mr. Lawrence almost lit the middle school on fire when he was an eighth grader."

"Timmy Lawrence!" Paige was distracted for a moment, truly shocked, "They let him become a teacher?"

"I know."

"I'm calling Keira, and if she can corroborate with your story you're off the hook."

"I'm not lying Grammy."

"Well the maternal spidey senses are screaming that you are."

"Ask her she said I could."

**February 4, 2011**

Booth and Brennan, B&B, back together again after only a few days of separation. Though no cheerful banter was being thrown about, no crimes were being solved by the duo. They were just waiting. And they both thought it was a boring concept.

"How are things with Ailis?" For Temperance, this was a large step in the matters of small talk for her. The question was one that could have been asked by any close friend of Seeley's.

"We fought last night," He gave a grunt at this, "Great way to start off a relationship."

"There's a lot going on for the both of you. It's understandable there are a lot of anthropological terms coming into play here."

"Bones, as much as I love your anthropology what-ya-ma-call-its, I'm just not in the mood."

After a few moments of silence, Temperance let the beans spill. "Walker's horrible, it was like you before you were," she shrugged trying to find the correct term to describe the 'house trained Booth,' "You know, you."

"I miss you to Bones."

**September 22, 2008  
****11:13 p.m.**

"I've got a 925, down here on Dreary Lane; seems to be abandoned, but going to check it out, possible stolen vehicle." For Officer Milton of the Virginia State Police Department, this seemed to be the most exciting thing he had reported all week; of course he collected his usual batch of drunk drivers, gave out what seemed to be a few hundred speeding tickets. But the abandoned vehicle, wow it could be full of drugs or a dead body. Or anything… snakes! He bet the trunk was full of snakes.

"Rodger that. Do you want backup?"

"No I'm good. Be back with what I find in a few."

"Rodger."

As he approached the car, flashlight in hand he could see that the main part of the car was empty. A cell phone and some files were laid across the passenger seat but other than that and some random sports equipment in the back, it was empty. But he was waiting for the trunk. Approaching the ignition of the car he looked for the trunk pop button, though his hands brushed up against a set of keys. Surprised, he gave them a quick twist and the engine erupted into life.

"Station, I think I've got a possible missing person. The 925 on Dreary Lane, keys still in the ignition, cell phone and paper work in there as well."

"A cell phone in the ignition?"

"No the passenger seat."

"I'm gonna check out the surrounding area with a flood light, see if I can find a struggle, but send me down another cruiser. I wanna write this one up."

**February 4, 2011**

"Have you gotten Keira's phone and belongings from the car back yet?"

"No, they considered them evidence in her disappearance."

"Thank you Miss Booth, if I have anymore questions I'll contact you and if you remember something just have Seeley give me a call."

"Thank you Agent Walker, I'm sorry about Ailis…"

"I understand it's a tough time for her. I wish the both of you the best of luck."

"Thank you."

Seeley and Temperance stood when Paige's sliding glass door opened, letting Ailis to exit.

"Hi." Gripping the sleeves of her sweatshirt, Ailis lifted her hand in a small wave, introducing her presence.

"Ailis you've met Dr. Brennan," Seeley had stood, it seemed that Ailis had paled since he had last seen her, though he put the observation away for the time being, "She's here with Agent Walker."

"You must be having a blast."

"He's not as easy to work with Booth."

"Booth, you mean him; like the referring to your partner by their last name thing?"

"Yea, but she's Bones."

"I thought your last name was Brennan?"

"No, it's what Booth has been calling me."

As Ailis gave a confused look at Seeley for the morbid nickname, Seeley gave himself some defense, "She works with Bones, you know forensic anthropologist." Ailis nodded in understanding.

"It's better than mine," She laughed, "I'm JWB at track, because I can run."

As both adults stared at her for naming three random letters she explained, raising her eyebrows to show that it was a joke like most nicknames are, "Like John Wilkes-Booth."

"No one every lets up on that! Do they?"

"I used Deming as my last name in seventh grade when we were learning about the reconstruction era."

"Now I see we're all smiles out here." _Mood killer,_ Ailis thought, thankfully she had kept that comment to herself, though the smugness from the idea spread to her face as a smirk.

"Well, Ailis, Agent Booth, I'll be contacting you soon with any information on the case."

"Thanks Sky-Walker."

Walker brought his hand up to his brow in a pseudo salute, "No problem," Then he turned to Temperance, "Come on Bones."

"See everyone calls her it." Seeley felt some triumph when his nick name was proven.

Trailing after Walker who was already half way out of the ward, Temperance turned to the Booths, "Bye Booth."

"Bye."

The second the elevator doors closed and they made their descent from the seventh floor Temperance _Brennan_ gave Walker what was coming to him, "Booth can only call me that."

"Oww…" his voice came out a few octaves higher as he rubbed his shoulder in pain, "That much force wasn't necessary."

* * *

_~925 in cop code is a suspicious vehicle. |;D it's a gnome winkey smiley!_

_PLEASE REVIEW AND READ! ALMOST AT 10 k HITS!_

_~meg_


	18. When Everything Seems the Same

_technically im grounded, so ahhh im a criminal. i wont be able to really update for about two weeks, but im going to be working on lots of chapters! also a heads up i need to know if i should continue this story as like an epic 45 chapter thing. or should i create a series! you opinions do affect the story, no review, make being grounded a little bit nicer!_

_~meg  
_

* * *

"So Mr. Booth, if you sign here we'll be finished with our mound of paper work." Cheryl the social worker at the Crest Ridges Hospice had been making small, unfunny jokes for most of the two and a half hours Seeley had been trapped in her office that afternoon. Through his hand cramp though he gave a manly cursive signature on the dotted line; he didn't know what he had been signing away, for all he knew they were going to be selling her organs on the black market.

"Thank god." He mumbled under his breath, what he had just been doing made FBI casework seem like a fun kindergarten worksheet.  
"Well, no we're just going to discuss some of our policies and then you can go catch up with your mother and Ailis." He nodded, though he was sure he hadn't missed out on much besides chatting with the severely obese woman that was Paige's roommate.  
"So…, you understand that with Paige's condition that the longest we can expect her stay to be with CR to be around two weeks?"  
"Yea," he swallowed, it made him edgy discussing his mother's impending death casually, "Discussed that with the Doctor."  
"In that time CR will provide a grief counselor to both Paige and your family," not really caring if she got a verbal response, as this was the third time that she had done a consultation today, Cheryl continued on, "They'll help Paige move on with the death process, which I have a packet for. And they'll also work with you and Ailis with your grieving process."  
The woman didn't seem to need to take a breath, "Now the funeral arrangements can be made with the funeral homes that are associated with CR or you can find your own arrangements."  
"Which funeral homes do you work with?"  
"Well all over," she paused to think, this wasn't her part of the company, "Mainly DC because that's where we're based but a few in the suburbs in Virginia and Maryland."  
"Thanks."  
"Now all those arrangements will be made afterwards, though there is one more thing that I just want to inform you about…" Cheryl spun her chair so that its tall back was facing Seeley across the desk, searched through case files until she found the highlighted Booth file, "Sometimes we get single parents in here and we have to contact social services about the child. It said in the paperwork that Paige was the guardian of Ailis, so we'll have to give them a ring so they know about the changing situation."  
"I thought that I was going to take care of her."  
"Oh, well at the moment that arrangement is appropriate though the case worker will have to go over that with you."  
"But you're a social worker."  
"Yes, but I'm the kind that deals with dead and dying people's paperwork all with a smile on my face."  
"I see."  
"They'll be giving you a ring once they get your file, we'll send them your contact information."  
"Thanks."  
"Just doing my job Mr. Booth; now I'll let you get to your mother and niece."

* * *

Ailis had been sent into a familiar pastel painted hallway, it seemed to be identical to the ICU, but it had a slightly more homely feel to it as there was a few decorations on the wall. Though there was the same beeping from the same machines, the same bleach making a too clean smell, the same tiles and lighting schemes, what seemed to be the people doing the same nursing job in the same scrubs; though the Hospice had the job of making you comfy while you died instead of actually doing something to stop your death.

_Ailis saw a scene playing out in her head between the stereotypical pretty blonde nurse and a withering old man._  
_"Oh Mr. Ford, your choking on your tongue…Oh let me fluff your pillow and get an extra blanket, don't want your little piggys to get cold."_  
_While Hot Blonde Nurse reached up into a closet for the oh so needed blanket, Mr. Ford had one hand wrapped lightly around his nick giving the universal choking signal and the other reached out in Hot Blond Nurse's direction for help. As she returned from the closet she saw Mr. Ford flopped over to the side of the bed, his heart monitor flat lining._  
_"Oh well." She shrugged her shoulders and proceeded with tucking the now dead Mr. Ford in._

* * *

"Booth family?"  
"Yea." Ailis, being slightly younger than Seeley had jumped up the second the nurse had come out of Paige's room.  
"Hi, I'm Lauren, Paige's day RN." awkwardly Lauren stuck out her hand for Seeley to shake, though dropped it before Ailis and her could share a grip. She looked like all the other nurses, hair in a high ponytail, a stethoscope of some random color around her neck and a clip board full of patient charts that seemed to be permanently attached to her hand.  
Flipping through a few pages on her clipboard appendage, Lauren took a breath, "We were just going over some intake things with Paige and she told us about some pain that she was feeling, so we gave her some strong meds." She looked up to Seeley and then moved her gaze to Ailis who had dropped back down to the plastic waiting area seats. "So with the combo of just settling in and the drugs, I think it might be best if you went home today."

* * *

"Ello?"  
"Hi… is this the McGinty house?" When the family of four had first moved into Ailis's neighborhood they had only planned on staying a few years until the family had finalized moving to Belfast.  
"Yea." Came a lisped young voice, he couldn't tell if it belonged to a male or female McGinty offspring.  
"Could I talk to Connor, please?"  
"Who's this?" Of course the young voice was accompanied by very blunt speaking grammar.  
"Ailis's dad."  
There was a slight gasp of amazement, "I didn't know she had one."  
"Oh," he paused for a second, he was not about to explain the birds and the bees to a child via a phone line, "Well could I talk to Connor? It's really important."  
"Okay… CONNOR!" He pulled the phone away from his ear, "Ailis's daddy is on the phone…. Katie I didn't think she had one either…. Connor! …. He says he's gonna be a minute."  
"Thanks."  
"Can I ask you somethin'?"  
"Sure."  
"Why don't you live with Ailis?"  
"Well…."  
"Thanks Tatter… Hello?"  
"Hi Connor, it's umm Mitchell."  
"Mr. Deming?"  
"Yea."  
"Wow, a phone call." Connor cringed as his twin sisters lined up in front of him, the 'we want info now' faces on full strength, "Ah, it's nice to talk to you again."  
"Same here, um I've been trying to call Ailis at the house but no one has been picking up."  
"Oh. Ailis went into town to stay with her uncle."  
"Ailis doesn't have an uncle…"  
"It's on Paige's side of the family; he's her long lost son… I have a feeling that some Days of Our Lives writer is controlling the universe now…"  
"Why isn't she staying with Paige?" Mitch in an annoyed tone cut the younger male off, making said younger male swallow before he answered.  
"Dude, you haven't… crap…  
"Connor…"  
"Mr. D, calm it, you know about Paige getting cancer right?"  
"Yes, she was getting treatment; she said she was still able to take care of Al."  
"Um, I've been texting Al," he paused at using Mitch's nick name for his best friend, "She said that they were moving her into a hospice today."  
"Thanks Connor."  
"Okay Mr. D."  
"Wait, have you seen her today?"  
"Ailis, no; she didn't go to school today."  
"Do you know if she's alright?"  
"I can't really tell she hasn't been picking up my calls."  
"No…"  
"Thanks." Mitch clicked the end button.  
Though Connor already heard the dial tone when he finished his sentence, "Problemo."

"Hi, yes I need a one way down to DC that's leaving today."

* * *

He felt like a kid again, when he was going to pick Keira up for a date; borrowing his dad's beat up pick up truck, a slight shaking in his hands as he gripped the steering wheel. Though this wasn't anxiety over whether or not Keira and him where going 'to do it' as he thought teens where calling it these days. He got over that fear long ago. Now it was over if his daughter would let him into the house.

* * *

He knew he should probably wake her up, get something into her system. They hadn't eaten lunch at the hospice or in DC; they had just gone straight home. In silence, as it was still very awkward to have a normal conversation. _Maybe I should just give her space. She'll come down when she's ready. Space, teenagers need space. Oh god, I sound like a parenting guide…Where's Angela when you need her?

* * *

_

It was wow, just being here again. He had a lot of memories here, playing with Al in the front yard, snow man making, sitting on the porch swing when it rained, and explaining that thunderstorms was just angels bowling in heaven. He used to be able to just barge right in, open the door and call "I'm here!"

His inner monologue was interrupted as he jumped, the door bell was ringing.

"Crap," while he reached down to grab the hunk of plastic that had been giving him troubles ever since he had stepped foot into the house, the presence at the front door began to knock, "Coming!"

Opening the door, Seeley had expected one of three things; a random pizza boy that had been sent by God; Connor coming over to talk to Ailis, as he had called earlier, or a concerned neighbor wanting to know what a strange grown man was doing in a house alone with a teenage girl. Meeting the man from Ailis's first communion picture though was something he was actually planning on to do a few days later. 


	19. If You Do, If You Don't

_hello my pretties, now i have to thank suki for the review! that made me jump with joy in my study. now if we got more of those... haha get what im hinting at? well now i totally need to know your guys opinions because they will help. the spelling and grammar stuff im working on but they won't be really finished because im grounded and only able to publish stuff at school. so i wrote an uber long chapter showcasing ailis, connors and missy's friendship which is basically all sarcastic remarks._

_tell me what you thing!_

_~meg :D _

_p.s. being grounded means that i don't get the internet which means that i only get to write on my none internet computer. and it means i have like eight chapters like pre-written, muhahaha._

_~meg :D =its a gnome smiley  
_

* * *

Sitting on two opposite sides of the sectional, the two men in Ailis's life sized each other up. Mitchell noted that 'Uncle Seeley' looked beyond similar to Keira, only he was much manlier and buff. He was polite, offering to get him something to drink, but he came here to see his daughter. Not go through awkward formalities, especially when he knew which drawer was the silverware draw and which drawer came flying at you if you pulled it ever so lightly.

"How has Paige been?"

"Good," Seeley swallowed, good wasn't the exact word to describe her situation, "Good for someone in her position."

"So how long had you two been separated?" Mitch knew the just of the story, as the word about the long, lost Booth child being found as soon as the murdered one was discovered had become the talk of the county.

"Thirty years."

"Wow."

"Yup," Clearing his throat he stood, "Ailis has been upstairs for a while. I'm not sure if she's sleeping or not though, when I checked she was."

"Thanks."

"I'll be down here."

* * *

He knocked quietly, it had been years since he had last been in this house but he still knew his way around. He remembered that the room was tiny, but it hadn't been crammed full of clothes and dressers and the 'necessities' of a teenage girl's room. The bed had been much smaller and the furniture was child sized. An assortment of multi colored items such as a dresser, toy box and desk was she had really needed then. But now the once pink room had been decorated to her much older taste with the walls painted in bright greens and teals marked with posters of bands with vague and long names and random pictures of who he thought was her group of friends, mainly they were of a more grown up Connor and her. _Damn he got old._

Under a pink blanket that had small woman's bathroom figures covering it, was what he suspected was Ailis, or more of a lumped up and sleeping form of Ailis.

"Al?" Mitchell asked as he pushed the door open a little bit more, giving him slightly more room to walk in.

"Yeah?" The voice was cracked. Maybe with sleep but he guessed with tears. 'Uncle' Seeley, downstairs had said she had been up here for a few good hours.

Edging around a pile of something on the floor he moved closer to the bed, "I'm here."

* * *

_I'm a mess  
A total wreck

* * *

_

"I guessed that from the sound of your voice in my room…" He laughed to himself, even as a kid she had been a little bit cynical. "I didn't think that you would get here that quick." She was shifting on her bed trying to push her covers off as well as hiding her koala stuffed animal under a pillow. He remembered that little gray blob, Kookie, of course then it had been more dirty as it now seemed to be more aged and on the verge of falling apart.

"My sister called," he said, right now she didn't need to know that her best friend sold her whereabouts out to him.

"Janie?"

"Joan." He corrected, didn't she go to school with his nephew? "She said it's spread around that Paige has started going south."

"Oh. Yea, thanks Missy's mom." She knew that her best friend's mother would gossip but when it had been something like this she expected it to be spread weekly from church to church and prayer group to prayer group. Not just speaking it where ever she went so all of Prince George County knew.

"Took a few good weeks off; one of those good things about being one part of a law firm, you get whenever you want off."

"I guess." She leaned a bit to her right reaching for a light stand, as she clicked on the lights Mitchell could now see the tear tracks on his baby girl's face.

"So is there any place to you know, sit?" maybe joking would lighten the mood.

"Yea, I just have to get the crap off of it. Sorry." A pile of clothes, mainly her track duffel and the various items it was throwing up, her uniform and shoes, was relocated to the end of her bed.

"Its fine, Al." she was still standing by the end of her bed, trying to avoid looking at him; she had been doing that to a lot of people. "So how's your uncle?"

"Uncles."

"Oh…" he nodded, He had really only heard and talked to one of them.

"Seeley's downstairs and I don't know where Jared is. But from like the five days I've spent with him, it seems like he's a good guy, was in the army or something." _Maybe I can keep the small talk going, keep this from going from feeling unnatural with having your father who hadn't been to visit you down south in a year and a half, to a downright awkward turtle situation._

"So how have you been holding up?" _Damn, he's started the process…_

"Pretty good, its hard, weird. Really, weird."

"Yea I understand."

"Not really."

"Heath say's she's really sorry and Leo made you a card."

"Oh thanks. Well tell him thanks." She gave a forced smile. This conversation at this time and with him was just not the best combo meal.

"Al, me and Heath were talking and," He swallowed, the conversation was going to end up either two ways; one where she didn't talk to him out of anger or a complete breakdown like the one her 'Uncle' had described earlier. And he was leaning to the road that meant they would be fighting for a few days, "we want you to move up with us to Boston."

But Ailis didn't give him the vicious stare he was expecting, she didn't have a raised voice and there was even a lack of slamming things around in frustration. She gave a defeated sigh and brought her legs up from the side of the bed and hugged them, she looked straight ahead at nothing.

* * *

_A poor excuse without you near to  
Keep me in check

* * *

_

"Al… sweetie are you okay?" he learned forward in the computer chair and was about to put his hand on her knee.

"Umm, I'm just going…" she let her legs fall back down and stood shakily, "Going to wash my face and get ready to you know; see people without looking like a wreck." She let out the last part in an uneasy laugh before rushing out of the dim room and into the hallway. He could hear her footsteps rushing on the stairs. He wasn't going to let her get out of this, she was going to have to face this sometime.

* * *

He didn't know which one to pick. The pink Chinese take out menu or the tan Vietnamese menu. Both looked promising, the usual meals at nice prices, but he needed a residences opinion before he made the deal making call.

"Ailis!" he turned at the raised voice coming from the stair well, taking a step to see what the situation was he was standing i the kitchen's archway. Bad decision.

Head first, Ailis came barreling into a wall of muscle, disoriented slightly she thought that Mitchell had somehow gotten down the stairs faster than her.

"I. uh... Seeley hi... I was just..." _EXCUSE NOW!_ Her eyes fell onto the take out menus, "Oh food!"

* * *

Ailis hanged up the phone after making a memorized order of poo poo platters. Turning back to Mitch and Seeley she edged her way onto the counter top behind her.

"What happened to the Chinese Dragon?" Mitch asked looking up from the menu.

"Foreclosure, like when the economy died, that was like..." Glancing up into her bangs Ailis thought for a moment, "Two or three years ago."

"Wow." The place had supplied most of Prince George County with their Americanized Chinese dishes for the last fifteen years.

"Yea, especially you were around when that happened."

"So why the Vietnamese place?" Seeley jumped in, he knew that Mitch and Ailis's fight was guranteed to happen but he didn't want to be around when it happened.

"Well, Hong Kongs is good, but the viet place is the only food Missy will eat besides her mom's cooking and trail mix."

"Missy?" That was a new name for Mitch to hear. Ailis looked up from her phone when he didn't continue the sentence.

She glanced down at her phone as her fingers flew across the miniaturized keyboard, "My other biffl..." When the silence continued she looked up again, "What?"

"You ordered three poo poo platters."Seeley was wondering if two teenage girls would be able to eat a quarter of what they ordered.

"Like one can feed three grown men."

"There's going to be two teenage girls and us..." Mitch dragged out, it was surprising to see his daughter crying, but maybe the grief had really messed with her head.

"One feeds me and Miss, one to feed you two and one for Connor."

"Oh."

"I just told them it was a Code 54, eat to forget."

Seeley nodded, food sometimes was the best thing for the soul, "...Good mantra."

"You said plan b though..." Mitch was curious to what plan b meant, the military type codes were confusing him.

"Pixar movies, a shitload of them."

"Cars?" Seeley had perked up at the sound of kid's movies, the hours he had spent watching them with Parker had made him love the cheesy lines and talking in animate objects.

"Yes! You can't forget Cars."

"Parker made me watch that about four times in one day."

In a deadly serious voice Ailis turned to face the two men, "Well there is no way that you could get tired of McQueen."

* * *

_Take me out, take me anywhere  
I'm out of touch with everything  
And I don't care

* * *

_

"What do we got?" The trio was kneeling around the coffee table which held their booty.

"Monsters Inc, Walle, all the Toy Stories, ummmmm what did you bring Connor?"

"Despicable Me, Nightmare Before Christmas, Shark Bait who haha..." he trailed off.

Both girls glared at him, it was a code 54, not 36 it called for all the good movies.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"You know what!"

"My brother was watching it! If I just ripped it out of the DVD player my Mom would FedEx me to my grandmothers in Galway."

"Do you know how many quotes we're going to miss because of this." Missy gave him a dope smack as she stood and plopped down onto the couch.

"You go and try to compromise with your eight year old brother about watching the Incredibles another time because your best friend wants to binge herself into a food coma."

"He likes me better." Missy smirked looking up at him from her spot on the couch.

"Miss I think you mean he listens to you more." Ailis cut in, they had to use logic in a situation like this.

"What she's prettier or something?"

"No, dude the ovaries, those buddies of mine can get any man I want whipped."

In the kitchen the two men paused as they heard the line, sometimes truths like that just didn't need to be said out loud.

* * *

The food arrived as the trio was checking out the special features of the Finding Nemo. Mitch and Seeley had been sitting in the kitchen awkwardly making small talk, waiting for their exscuse to not to talk to come along.

"Yea, I've lived in Boston since 2004. Crammed as hell, but Heather doesn't like to drive so she calls the T a god sent." Seeley gave a small smile to be polite, "So you're son Parker, does he live close to DC?"

"No, his mom and him moved up to Vermont with her fiancee. But I get him around school vacations."

"Have you told him about Paige?"

"Not yet, I wanted a more clear situation before I bring him into it. Things are a mess right now."

"Yea, Heather wanted to come down with Leo for a few weeks, but its just not the best of times..."

"Foods here!"

Opening the door Ailis revealed a short middle aged white man, standing uncomfortably with the bag of Chinese food in hand.

"Here you go miss."

"Thanks."

"Twenty sixty, please."

Looking to the cookie jar that held emergency money hoped there would be enough, "Here, um twenty five, keep the change."

"Thanks."

"Bye." She said shortly as she hit the door closed with her hip. Turning she came face to face with Mitch, "Hi."

"We got plates in the kitchen."

"Generally that's were plates for eating are." Though instead of following him into the kitchen she had turned into the living room, where Missy and Connor sat waiting for their dinner.

"Al, will Grammy let you eat in the living room?"

"What Grammy doesn't know won't hurt her."

* * *

_I must be out of my mind  
All that I have to give to you  
Is all my time

* * *

_

Probably after the fourth pixar animated kid's movie, Mitchell decided that it was time for him to go. He had been sitting awkwardly in the over sized chair for most of the night, basically the fourth wheel of a car as Seeley had taken the end of the sectional, as it was the only area not completely taken over by the the three minors.

Connor who had been squished into the corner and was being used as a cushion by both of the girls, having his legs stretched out to the coffee table. Missy was laying along the couch end, using Connors thighs as a base cushion for her pillows so that she was comfortably curled up with bag of trail mix next to her. Absentmindedly Connor was picking at a bowl of grapes that was in Ailis's custody at the moment; Ailis lying against his stomach had adjusted herself to be able to have a grand view of the 35 inch TV.

"Al, I'm gonna get going."

"Okay," Ailis stared unfazed at the credits rolling, though after Missy made a face and attempted a discreet rib poke she continued her sentence, "I'll walk you out."

The father and daughter stood in the foyer, in the dark, looking at each other, each wondering who would make the first move, "You think I could come around tomorrow?"

"Um, I'll see. I don't know if we're going into to see Grammy tomorrow or what."

"Okay. I'll call then."

"'kay."

"Night," he stood in the doorway for a moment before making any move, swinging his arms around her waist he pulled her in, "Love you."

"Yea."

Stretching his back Seeley heard a few pops and cracks as he stood, "So maybe it should be time you guys headed home?"

"We only got like two thirds through though." Ailis had reappeared and was moving to lie back down on the couch.

"And its also two a.m. on a Monday."

"You should have seen the marathon we threw for Connor when he broke up with Bella over the summer. We went through the whole first three seasons of Rugrats in what, like a day." _Please, I'm not going to be here alone. I don't want to be here alone._

"Well, this old man wants to hit the hay..." the other two caught the message, though they weren't sure if they should go along with it or not.

"Okay, yea I'm probably grounded for missing dinner..." Connor stood, looking around the room for something to concentrate his eyes on.

"Unlike the idiot we call Connor over there I told my parents I might be sleeping over."

"Hey, I got testicles I can't sleep over."

All three heads turned at that one, Seeley's eyes wider than the two girls though.

Ailis made the first verbal response, "Why did you just say testicles?"

In an attempt to defend himself he threw the other gender's sex organs under the bus as well, "Miss said ovaries before."

"Yea, but those things are different." Missy called from the kitchen as she threw out her once full bag of trail mix.

"They're practically the same thing."

"Just so I know, you are safe to let me niece to hang around with?"

Laughing Ailis answered, "He wouldn't know what to do if he got the chance."

"Hey!"

After a moment, there was a high screech noise from the kitchen, comparable to that of squeaky door, though the two friend's knew the laugh. Missy a moment later came stumbling out of the kitchen, doubled over in laughter, "Did you hear how high his voice went? I thought you had been working on that in chorus..." Ailis joined in for a moment though after seeing the look of slight uncertainty for the situation at hand on Seeley's face, she attempted to hold in the laughter.

"Con, why don't you rush you and your testicles home before your Mom starts yelling Connor Liam."

"Fine," he rolled his eyes at her mentioning his middle name, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yea." She nodded,

"Bye."

"Night."

* * *

_How could have they found it, of course the newspaper article explained what had happened._

_ 'Two Boys find house in wood, not a tire swing in the front tree, but five swinging bodies.'_

_His sanctuary, his master piece, his life's work; ruined, all by those two brats. He had scouted that area out for years, he made it his home. Each piece of equipment, body, length of rope, was placed precisely so that like a Monet or Van Gogh the best image was reflected. _

_To keep the flesh from decomposing off of the bodies, to keep animals away from them; it took all his talent for this masterpiece. And the media had turned it into a mockery of everything that had taken years of work. He needed to show them the best of his skills.

* * *

_

_I'll stay with you  
And we'll say over and over… I'm a waste of time._

**~If You Do, If You Don't; Cartel**


	20. Update

Sorry I haven't updated in forever. I have so many projects going on and I have so many dance competitions at the moment so between Fanfiction and homework, homework is winning. But I do have several chapters written I just don't have the time to edit them and put them up. Still review though guys! Thanks.

~Meg


	21. Introducing President Roosevelt

_well guess what i got to update a day later... usual greeting, read, review, thanks for reading, your amazing! also the first time this was put up, i had put it up in the middle of a study which ended when i was in the middle of editing it. well guys over 3,500 words. and the whole thing is at a novella length! woot woot, im proud? are you? ok, ill stop talking to my imaginary fans and readers now... _

_~meg  
_

* * *

Multi tasking as he poured in the creamer into his coffee, he flipped open his ringing phone and squished it between his shoulder and ear, "Skywalker."  
_"Agent Walker?"_  
"No Luke Skywalker." He answered in a dead pan voice.  
_"Is this a prank number?" 'Does he really not get the joke?'_  
"No I am agent Luke Walker, it's a joke." Glancing down at the phone's display screen, he wanted to know who was ruining his morning coffee run. "Now the caller id says this is the Prince George Sheriffs Office, what can I help you with?"  
_"We got another body."_  
"Wha…AHHHH!" The coffee shop went dead silent as he looked down at the damage the spilt coffee had done to his pants.  
_"Excuse me?"_  
"Ah, spilt coffee, it's all good." He squeaked out in pain, swiveling his head he gave surrounding customers a big smile to show that he was okay, "Yea, don't let the hick CSI touch anything, wait for the Jeffersonian to get there."  
_"Would you like to know the location?"_  
"The house…" he mused.  
_"No."_  
"Oh… where?" He stopped patting awkwardly around his crotch area with a napkin and straightened up, interested that they had a new crime scene.  
_"The high school."_  
"Fun, teenagers and camera crews," he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration, "Be there in an hour with the Jeffersonian."  
"_Thank…"_though the sheriff was cut off with the sound of the dial tone.

* * *

"Umm, you can just stop the car right here." Ailis called from the back seat of the SUV; Missy who had been watching the niece and uncle interact since the previous night wanted to see how this last situation would play out, all with a big ass smirk on her face. There were moments when the two seemed to have the same personality, joking and laughing at the same things. While at other times, such as when Ailis said that he could sleep in Keira's room rather than on the couch, they seemed to be what they were, two relatives who've just met for the first time.  
"I'm going to find a parking spot; I have to talk with some sort of counselor, Ms. Ritah."  
Ailis's eyes rounded in what seemed to be horror, as her friend seemed to be in a state of 'shock' Missy stated what she knew was on Ailis's mind, "Oh god."  
"Oh god what?" Seeley turned in the drivers seat, facing the two girls.  
Recovering Ailis spoke again, "You're not going to get out of her office without being forced into thinking that someone touched you in your naughty place or are in an abusive relationship."  
"Um?"  
"She will guilt you into thinking that getting into a fight with your significant other means that you're in an abusive relationship, or that you don't know the difference between a good touch and a bad touch." Missy agreed.  
Turning forwards Seeley readjusted himself in his seat, "Wow, school's role has changed."  
Ailis gave a snort, "Yea, it's been a while since _The Breakfast Club_ came out."  
His comfortable position didn't last for long as again he turned back to face the two teenagers, "Hey! I'm younger than Molly Ringwald!"  
"Coming from the man who referred to himself and I quote 'an old man who wants to hit the hay,'…" Missy identified this as one of those moments that they were comfortable with each other, acting as if they've known each other all of Ailis's life, the way a niece and uncle would act.  
"It's an expression now get in before your late."  
"Thanks Mr. Booth for the ride."  
"No problem Missy."  
"Bye."  
"Wait!"  
"What?" Ailis turned, ready to slam the car door.  
"Do you need lunch money or something?" This was the moment that Missy had been waiting for.  
"I'm good, student charge card." She gave a thumbs up and a funny looking grin before she shut the door.  
"Okay bye."

Missy was wearing that creepy cat's grin from Alice in Wonderland, "Wow."  
"Shut up." Ailis grumbled.  
"Wow." She shook her head, as if all she had seen was a dream.  
"Shut up!" Around the duo a few chatting students turned to look at them, a yelling person was something that people did generally stare at.  
"Did he really ask you if you needed lunch money?" Ailis gave an award winning smile to the few people who had given her strange looks, "And how long have you known your uncle?"  
"Like a business week." She groaned, she didn't want more people in her life trying to be father figures, even though Seeley was less annoying then her barely there father it still was going to be awkward, especially with the events taking place.  
"Wow."  
"What?"  
"It's just; he's really jumped into the role of being, hmmm like super dad."  
"Better than Mitch." Ailis cringed when she saw the look Missy sent her, "Sorry, better than _my dad_ trying to do that."

* * *

"Mr. Booth?"  
Seeley brought his attention back from his Tetris game to the slightly overweight, middle aged woman Caucasian woman standing in the doorway.  
"Yes." He stood from the teenaged size waiting room chair he had been sitting in for most of the hour as the woman stuck out her hand.  
"Hi I'm Sasha Ritah, the DuVal High School's social worker. I understand that you are Seeley Booth."  
"Yes, um I'm Ailis's uncle."  
"From her mother's side of the family…"  
"Yes, our mother left me and my brother with my father."  
"I see. Now usually I have to call family members in, but you just got yourself right up here. Thanks," Even for him, that had around three cups of coffee since six this morning, the pep in this woman's voice was just too much for him. "Now let's take a seat in my office and we can begin the meeting."  
He stepped into a dimly lit room, or what he could tell an old broom closet with a desk jammed into it. As he sat in the visitor's chair he was sitting knee to knee with newly acquainted Ms. Ritah; he knew his intuition about the room's true use was for a janitor's closet from the lack of a window and the smell of bleach and other industrial strength cleaners.  
"Well to get us started, Seeley, I can call you Seeley?"  
"Sure."  
"Seeley I got a fax from a friend of mine at Crest Ridges Hospice, Cheryl, I believe you've met with her?"  
"Yes, she said she was going to have to inform social services of Ailis's situation."  
"Good, yes well she faxed over the file and I must say I'm very sorry for your loss and for what Paige is going through. I've only met her once but she is a lovely woman."  
"Thank you."  
"Now Prince George County's Social Services Department has been notified and you've been assigned a case worker, Todd Freeman. Because this was a different case, they outsourced it to a private agency."  
_They have private agencies for this type of stuff…_"What is he going to be doing exactly?"  
"Well paperwork, checking up on you and Ailis, mainly Ailis. Legal things, boring stuff really."  
"Working for the FBI," _Oh I bet that was a piece of information that she didn't know,_ "I get to chase down bad guys and be a hero and I do all the paper work that goes along with it all with a smile on my face. So I think I can handle knowing what the case worker is going to be doing." _I hope she doesn't ask for copy right royalties…_Though instead of backing off and giving him an answer with a compliant voice he was meet with a beady look.  
"With custody cases such as this it will basically be assessing the situation, Ailis's needs and wants and addressing them. That takes time and paper work." She gave him another look from across the desk before she spoke again; it screamed, _was that good enough for ya? _"Now can I interest you with a cup of coffee?"

* * *

"Now, Miss Booth I'm sure that watching the CSI men outside is very entertaining especially when you can't hear what they're discovering at the crime scene but the characterization in the Catcher in the Rye does take some attention to be able to understand it." The tenth grade English class turned to look at Ailis, who was idly watching out the window across from her the blue jumpsuit dressed Jeffersonian workers.  
**"Yes, I understand that Holden, a whiney and bratty teenage boy who is a danger to himself and society, needs to be analyzed by me because I will see a different view of this interesting character than the other millions that had read the book."** Of course that what she had wanted to say and had planned to say from the moment she had crossed the threshold but it came out sounding more… meek.  
"Sorry Ms. Marlette. I don't have anything different to say."  
"Well you're the first person I've called on for this question."  
"Nothing different from the rest of the population that's read this book."  
"Then can you please give me a stereotypical answer that millions of readers have found in Holden."  
"I'll give it to you as soon as the investigation of my mother's disappearance and murder is over with."  
There was a moment of heavy silence. The giant of the classroom, the boy sitting at the partnering desk of Ailis, looked down at the top of Ailis's head. For as long as he knew her Ailis would probably not have given the class and student teacher that much information. And with her statement she had given a shit-load of information, to some she might have been playing the 'my mother was murdered by a serial killer' card a little too soon. Within fifteen seconds of the words flying out of her face a moment of realization hit Ailis, she had said what she had been thinking out loud. Out loud meaning that those words and letters and the bold statement that she meant to keep in to her inner monologue had come out of her lips.  
Nervously Ms. Marlette turned to the Ailis's neighbor, "Theodore can you please give your view of…"

But the student teacher's voice was drowned out again as Ailis's eyes and thoughts settled on the taped off area of the football field. For one, she had just revealed to her English class, which meant by lunch that the detail of her mother being a murder victim was going to be revealed to the whole school. She had just canceled out the homeroom gossip that she had eavesdropped from two blonde girls who had their skirts hiked up suggestively. Apparently as it was told by the student body's whispers that another body had been found in the 300 tree, or a tree that town hall records said that had been planted by a settler in the seventeen hundreds or around that time. The janitor, Harold Gonzales had been coming in from checking on the baseball fields trash cans when he had heard creaking in the tree, apparently for a three hundred year old tree that was losing limbs all the time in rain storms that was noise was odd; however he investigated and found the mutilated body or more carcass of another victim. Many suspected it to be another one of "Jack the Skinners" victim, the name had been cleverly been invented by one of the boys who had originally discovered 'Jack's' layer. It had become official with that being the title of the wikipedia page linked to DuVal High School. Personally she hated the name, it was cheesy and caught on too quickly, and it also wasn't it the media's job to come up with the persona of the killer?

By the time she had gotten to a classroom with a view of the 'crime scene' the body had been taken down and the taped off area was just mainly full of people in blue jump suits. Apparently, the schools Forensic Science club wanted to ask if they could review the remains at the Jeffersonian, all they needed was just to raise a few hundred dollars to be able to pay for a tour and the admission price. She knew that the science department had some social dumb asses, but that was just breaking too many social boundaries, but what was worse was that they had made an announcement in homeroom about it. By the end of the day she knew kids would hang around the crime scene to get an interview on some local news channel or something of that sort; but for her she had been texted several times, twice by the same person that the track coach wanted everyone at practice which had been moved to the middle school's field. Did she really want to see what her mother looked like after 'Jack' had skinned her? Or well, more evidence was involved with her mothers death… No, so going to the rerouted track practice was good. She wouldn't have to see anything, or anyone who was that much of an idiot to ask her about what she had just blurted out, unless the Forensic club started to stalk her. Maybe the week could start off nicely for her, avoid her father here and there and evade people's questions and sympathies. There might be a god out there that might care about her….

It wasn't the low pitched whispered "Lissy" that got her attention; it was more of the kick that followed it that did. She looked up; again the class was staring at her, though a pair of eyes was closer.  
"Miss Booth!" In front of her was Ms. Marlette, apparently she had been calling her for a few minutes, "You're needed down at the office." Standing awkwardly she stuffed random papers into random folders and hastily made her way out of the room.

* * *

He had expected somewhat of a mess to walk into the office, usually kids in her situation would be a mess; but no she had a cocky air about her. The guidance counselor, Bobby Jaurea or BJ as he asked people to call him, had said he had only gotten to meet her once when it was time to organize her schedule, so he had little to go off of on what to make of Ailis Sophia Deming-Booth. He admitted that he loved the double name thing, but the lack of personal information they had on her was unnerving, usually he had a stack of papers of some psychologist's analysis that at least help him determine her favorite color.

"So Ailis you can take a seat across from Mr. Freeman." BJ, a man with a slightly "gay" accent, made Ailis cringe, couldn't people show some real emotions about this situation. Even though the student teacher was bitchy she at least showed realistic human feelings when the topic had been brought up, unease. Looking around at the conference table she looked for the referenced chair, there were several possibilities, but she decided that it would be in her best interest to sit in the farthest seat away from said Mr. Freeman.  
"So I guess you're wondering why you're here…" BJ started.  
"My mom was found dead, my grandmother is dying and my grandmother's long lost son is taking care of me." Mr. Freeman gave only a little effort in trying to hide his smirk.  
"Like to get to the point, don't we?" When all he got was a hard stare as an answer BJ continued, "Well I would like to introduce you to Mr. Freeman."  
"Hi Ailis." Leaning across the table a muscular, young and shinning bald black man stuck his hand out, politely Ailis meet her hand with his, _so she's polite... and gosh she has a strong hand shake._  
"Hi."  
"Well…" BJ awkwardly tried continuing his end of the conversation.  
"With the whole fun family drama you've got going on right now the county thought it would be really nice if you had someone checking up on you." Mr. Freeman leaned back in his chair as he watched Ailis's eyes trail around the room.  
"So you're a big brother, big sister type of person….?"  
"Not exactly… I'm your social worker."  
"Fun." She nodded.  
Behind her BJ mouthed the word 'fun' which was accompanied with a confused look. Most don't respond with fun when being told that they were going to have a social worker.  
"So I'm going to be seeing a lot of you, I'm going to be working on some paperwork but otherwise we can hang out."  
"Hang out…"  
"Watch TV, get something to eat, discuss economic theory in great detail, go on a crusade. I'm from a private company so I get a little bit more free time."  
"That's cool." She nodded again, a blank slate for emotion besides for a slightly apparent feeling of disdain.  
"So is there anything you want to talk about right now?" BJ ventured…maybe he could warm up the situation, generally with the kids at DuVal he was great they laughed at his jokes and warmed up, a lot of them were on first name basis with him; he really didn't know what it was, his personality or if he had this general caring look about him.  
"Can I go back to class?"

* * *

"Hey love bug! Waiting for your sweetie to show up?" Missy rang out as she approached the behemoth that was blocking her locker, as it turned to face her she could see the mild blush moving up it's cheeks an annoyed look in it's eye.  
"Missy. Shut. It." He growled out, looking around to make sure that the so mentioned 'sweetie' didn't hear what had been said.  
"Okay, I get it, but when the tension between you two becomes too much I am going to blast _Just Kiss the Girl_. Because honestly, it's repulsive to watch you puppy dog after her."  
"Dude!"  
"Sorry Roosevelt, I'll keep this knowledge to a need to know basis."  
"Smart ass."  
"Go sing _and they called it Puppy Love..._"  
"I'm going to ignore the fact that you know that song."  
"Oh… is there something better to pay attention to?"  
"Bitch."  
"Can I get in please?" came an annoyed tone, when only Missy gave a real response of moving aside to make some room for the awaited guest, in a harsher tone added "That was directed to you Teddy."  
"Sorry Liss."  
"How was your day back?"  
"It was school. And it really wasn't like I had missed a lot, one day whoo pee doo." She gave mock excitement by twirling her index finger before she made a move on her lock.  
"But hey there's track!"  
"Yeah! Running…" Ailis rolled her eyes at her other best guy friend. Of course he hadn't been apart of the newly organized quartet between Teddy, Missy, Connor; as he had just entered the school system last year. But he was one of the people she talked to the most on a daily basis.  
"But hey President Roosevelt is here to cheer you up!" Missy had a big cheesy grin on her face again, like the one she had that morning when Seeley had dropped them off at school.  
"Yea." Rolling her eyes again, Ailis maneuvered her track bag out of her locker and slammed its door shut.  
"Ailis I can wait for you to get into your track suit." Teddy suggested, getting into a comfortable leaning position against the wall of lockers.  
She looked up at him, "Thanks. Yea. I'll be right back."  
A millisecond after Ailis had turned around the corner did Missy open her mouth, "Be nice player, it's been a suck-ass day."  
Teddy rolled his eyes, "Trust me I was there for half of it; and I highly doubt your attitude is making it much better."  
"Oh…. So Teddy Bear's got some fight in him." Missy smirked at him as she jumped into a fake fight stance. His none verbal response was a very impolite finger and a grin to match hers.

* * *

"I think I recognize that FBI issued SUV."  
"You know what type of car Skywalker drives?"  
"No," Hodgins turned to Wendell, slightly amazed at the stupid question coming from his favorite intern, "It's Booth's car."  
"I knew that." Wendell nodded, he was even surprised at his question.  
"And I think I recognize that FBI issued agent." Sidetracking his away from the direction of the Jeffersonian's evidence truck Hodgins yelled out to him, "Booth!"  
Though not in his usual suit and tie, Seeley turned to where the voice breaking his 'I'm waiting for you to give me some evidence' stance.  
"Hodgins..." Seeley returned, in a half way greeting.  
"Collecting evidence, another murder."  
"I guessed that from you guys being here. Is Bones here?"  
"No, Dr. Brennan was here earlier but she left to go with Skywalker."  
"Skywalker?" Seeley's eyebrows shot up.  
"Agent Walker." Wendell clarified.  
Seeley crossed his arms, "I can't believe he got you guys to call him that. When he first came out of the academy he tried to get it as his nickname." he shook his head, all the senior agents knew it wouldn't catch on.  
"Well, we started calling him that before we really knew him." Wendell looked to Hodgins, who had stayed quiet during most of the conversation, he was studying Booth.  
"Yea, his parent's must have hated him or something..."  
"He was born before the movie."  
"Oh..."  
The casual talk was interrupted by an ambulance high tailing it through the parking lot, cutting through to make it's way to the neighboring middle school. The three men turned their heads and watched it make its way to where a group of students was crowded in the middle of the field.  
"Did someone break their leg?" Wendell stood on his toes to see if he could get a better view, Seeley taking at much more sensible approach took a few steps forwards, stopping at the lots fence.  
"I think they're bringing out an oxygen tank..."  
"Asthma attack gone bad..."  
"Yea..." though Seeley was still glaring at the scene, he had this sick feeling in his stomach that something wasn't right. When he heard a girl's high pitched scream he darted, he knew it was Ailis.

* * *

_so i introduced a little love interest... oh la la! yea fail, but i saw this kid from degrassi in the opening credits when i was babysitting my cousins and yea i knew he and ailis would be a cute couple... ;D well im going to put a list of my OC characters up on my profile page so you can identify who's new and such. well so for the wicked long wait. i had MCAS and english projects and a history project and just hell of a lot of procrastinated homework. well the usual read and review check out the photos and such. thanks!_

_~meg  
_


	22. I'm the Niece

_I really just rushed this. IDK my ability and need to write for Bones just vanished and went to supernatural…I'm sorry don't hurt me. And for this chapter I need some reviews, I feel that the quality is down with how long I took on it and rushed it. AHH without Ailis in a scene I just go "ADUHH."_

_~meg_

* * *

3:35 p.m.  
_"Hodgins I need the evidence at the lab, because that's where its supposed to be, so that you can find better evidence, because if you don't do your job, I can't do mine." _was delivered to the Jeffersonians evidence truck by the frustrated Luke Walker.  
"Sorry, there's a lot of traffic." As if to prove his point Hodgins checked his mirrors to see if he could enter the next lane, though to avoid hitting a white van he swerved back into his original middle lane. Handing the cell phone to Wendell his expression grew more aggressive.  
_"For what? Your in a suburban neighborhood, way before rush hour, your fine."_  
"The news vans. There's too many of them."  
_"Put your siren on."_  
"We don't have a siren." Wendell doubled checked his claim by looking around the cabin of the truck.  
_"Why not?"_  
"Because we're a private facility." Rolling his eyes Wendell looked over at Hodgins who was gripping the steering wheel and muttering under his breathe.  
_"Speed and I'll get a waiver for your ticket."_ Hodgins leaned over and grabbed the phone out of Wendell's hands, steering the car halfway into a neighbouring lane.  
"Ahh." Wendell's eyes widened and grabbed the door handle, Hodgins not paying attention while driving was terrifying.  
"Why do you want the evidence to be so snappy?" Hodgins steered the wheel so that the truck was back in it's correct lane.  
_"Because this is a serial murder investigation."_  
"Investigations can take an hour long driving delay."  
_"Can you just please get the evidence back in DC, on federal property before five tonight."_  
"Fine, cranky pants, wait you didn't even show up to the crime scene! I should be yelling at you."  
_"I was at the crime scene before you, I have a lead on who the victim might be so now I need you to confirm... don't chew on that! It's federal evidence."_  
By this statement Hodgins had turned the speaker phone on and both he and Wendell stared at the phone in confusion.  
"What's federal evidence?"  
_"Nothing, now please can you just get to the lab?"_  
"Yes Jedi Skywalker."  
"Wait! Is Dr. Brennnan with you?"  
_"She said she was going to be back at the lab, something interested her. Now concentrate on getting back."_  
Sighing Hodgins let out one of his many complaints against the federal government, "It's always work work work with these FBI agents."

* * *

5:12  
For someone not used to the work to the type of work that the lab conducted they probably would have been put off by the sight of Wendell rushing around the lab aimlessly with a skull in his hands,  
"Hodgins do you know where Angela is?"  
Not looking up from his microscope he gave the obvious answer, "Her office."  
"She isn't there."  
Still not looking up he tried the next obvious answer, "Have you tried Dr. Brennan's office?"  
"Dr. Brennan said she hasn't seen her either."  
_Third time is always the charm,_ Hodgins thought as he adjusted the focuses, "Cam?"  
"Thanks."

5: 23  
"Dr. Cam-"  
"Come in." Not looking up from her paperwork she heard footsteps of Wendell come padding on her office's rug,  
"-eron," Off put with have his sentence put out of order, Wendell readjusted himself as his brain caught up with the situation, "Have you seen Angela? I have the facial detail points done for the new victim."  
"She said that she had a doctors appointment at noon."  
"For the baby?"  
Looking up Cam had an _are you really that stupid moment_ as she looked up at one of the brightest interns she had ever met, "Yes..."  
"Wouldn't Hodgins want to go with her?"  
Even for woman as independent as Angela she would have thought that she would have wanted her husband and father of their child to go with her to the doctor's appointment, "Is Hodgins still here?"  
"We only got back two hours ago."

* * *

3:13 p.m.  
"Here you go Ms. Montenegro;" reaching across the visitors counter the nurse placed the visitors tag on to top as well as laying a map of the hospice next to it, pointing with her pen she directed where the intended visitee's room was, "Now Ms. Booth's room is 43."  
"Thanks," though before she could make her way down the directed hallway Angela was going to have to lie.  
"Now may I know are you family?"  
"Yes, niece."_ I really look like a niece..._ she grumbled in her head.  
"Niece?"  
"Adopted niece." _Yup, fail._  
"Thank you." ignoring the fact that she didn't believe it the nurse let the pregnant niece on her way.

"Come in." Looking up from her reading material, some light reading about the stages of death, Paige saw a young woman standing in the doorway.  
"Paige Booth?"  
"Yes?" Pulling of her glasses, she was able to get a much clearer view of her visitor.  
"Hi, I'm..." The young woman paused, taking a look around the room and then glancing back at Paige as she continued to stand in the doorway, "Usually not this shy. I'm with the Jeffersonian, we're working with the FBI..."  
Glad for the company Paige adjusted her various wires and tubes, "Yes, you're one of the people Seeley works with?"  
"Yea, I'm Angela Montenegro." Making her way further into the room, Angela saw the opposite of what she had expected, a seemingly strong woman in a pastel themed room.  
Paige reached across the blanket, with er non-iv hand, "It is very nice to meet you."  
Now taking in the woman more than the surroundings, she never could doubt that this was the mother of Seeley , Jared and Keira, "Same here, you really, look like all of them..."  
"Them?"  
"Your kids," getting back to her social adapted self, Angela explained her presence in the room "I'm working on the case, and when I was working with Keira, I... I drew a few extra sketches," fussing with her purse she worked the portfolio folder out and handed it to Paige, "I thought you might like to see them."

Taking a shuddered breath Paige, looked up from the papers, "You are very," interrupted by a cough she cleared her throat, "Very talented, Seeley was true to his word when he talked about your work."

* * *

5:47  
Even though he still barely knew his way around the lab Walker swaggered in,  
"Hodgins!"  
Swiveling around from a sample of the latest victim's flesh Hodgins was faced with a slightly peeved FBI agent "Yes, oh mighty Skywalker!"  
"Tell me something."  
"Anything something, or relating to the case something?" With his eyebrows raised in a humorous manner Hodgins waited for the retort, which was only a threatening eye glare.  
"Well compared to the other victims there was no use of a sedative. He was probably also much more violent because I recovered some particles in indents on the bones that are millimeters deep."  
"So he's more violent." Processing the information in his head Walker jumped to what he thought was the next best lead, "Did Wendell do the face recovering thing?"  
Swiveling back around Hodgins buried his face back into his microscope, no one liked a grumpy FBI agent, "Not yet. Angela is somewhere else."  
"Somewhere else..."  
"The somewhere else means that I don't know where she is."  
Moving from his cross armed position Walker now had his hands on his hips, "Call her."  
"I did."  
"And..." Hoping to catch Hodgins eyes, Walker walked around to the other side of the lab table and glared.  
"And she told me she's going to be here at five."  
"It's past five thirty."  
"I know."  
"And..." _Gosh this man doesn't seem to get it._  
"And I'm going to be here until she comes back."  
"When will that be?"  
Now looking up Hodgins caught Walker's eyes "It's Angela she might have gone to Siberia for the weekend."

* * *

6:43  
"I'm cleaning up the kitchen one day, and I find this broken egg all over one of the chairs. Jared was still in his height chair so I knew Seeley had to have done it. So I call him in and ask him why he broke an egg on the chair, and he goes 'no mom I was hatching it'."  
Both women laughed, or well one laughed while the other had hers come out in between coughs.  
"So when are you due?"  
"I'm not sure, we just found out. I told my boss that I was going to my first doctor's appointment but yeah."  
"Skipping out on work."  
"I just draw."  
"And I'm sure from what I have heard from Seeley that you have cracked a few cases."  
"Not many."  
Paige looked down at the sketch again, Keira's cheeks rising up in the familiar smile, "Have you met Ailis?"  
"Yes, she's very nice."  
Dead pan, Paige looked slightly confused, "We're talking about my granddaughter right?"  
Angela laughed before she continued, "She's polite, not much of a talker."  
"Wish she was that way around me; sometimes I can't get her to shut up…" That's when the look of heart break was really clear on Paige's face, "Do you think she's doing okay?"  
"I'm not sure. I only spent a few hours with her."  
"I should probably ask Seeley." Paige looked up at the door as if that was his cue for him to walk through, though they were both distracted from their thoughts as "Sharp Dressed Man" broke the silence. Paige grinned, "I love that song."  
"Me too…. Hello?"  
"_Angela you need to get here now_." She couldn't identify whose voice was on the other end of the line, all she could sense was the near desperation it sounded of.  
"The sketches can wait…"  
"_No, you need to do a voice analysis_." As the voice cleared she could her Walker in the background with Bren, probably arguing over something stupid like the early Booth and 'Bones' pairing.  
"When did we get a video?"  
"_The sheriffs department just got a call from our guy_."

* * *

_Yes I know cheesy way to end it with a cliff hanger. And I'm beyond sorry again for the irresponsibly late chapter submission. _


	23. Dads

_yes it is sad and desperate that im asking this but reveiws would be nice. im open for criticism, im starting to annoy my friends and english teacher when im asking about plot ideas and characterization and dialogue. hey i got two chapters up in like four days. dudes you got to give me props. so youll see when you read below that im alot better at writing ailis and non labby things as my labby consult person has mysteriously idk but disappeared so now im like... the squints will find something and run a test and wollah evidence... yes. so back to the point. ailis is back from that mysterious cliffhanger! now read and review!_

_~meg_

_**NEXT DAY AFTER POSTING**_

_I knew insert name here was going to show up somewhere. AHHHH. anyways its fixed so now it is Denis, Mitch's dad. and thankyou for the review.  
_

* * *

"Hi, I'm looking for my daughter, Ailis Deming Booth." Mitch stammered, slightly out of breath from running through the ER, avoiding people in wheel chairs and nurses moving at an unbelievably snailish pace.  
"And you are?" the receptionist didn't look up from the computer screen.  
"I just said that she's my daughter."  
"What's her name?"  
_Really what the fuck lady?_ "Ailis, A-I-L-I-S, Deming-Booth."  
"And who informed you that she was here?" Still her head was down.  
"Her uncle; Seeley Booth, he called me. He said he was with her."  
"Okay sir, she's in room C173."  
"Can you tell my why she got admitted?"  
Finally peeved for Mitch's naive question she looked up and obnoxiously popped her gum, "Sir, I only have room numbers and names."  
"Thanks."  
"Mitch… Mitch… Mitchell." The older man following Mitch grabbed his arm, as Mitch attempted to plow people over to get into the elevators.  
"What?"  
"You need to slow down; you'll give yourself a heart attack."  
"He said that they had to sedate her. I need to go see her."  
"Why don't we walk to the elevators and get your blood pressure down."  
"Dad, it's Ailis I saw her last night and I knew she wasn't fine. I _have_ to see if she's okay."  
"The C building is just general admissions, if it were serious she would have been in the A wing. Maybe the sedation was to calm her down. It's been a hard time for her."  
"Okay."  
For a moment Mitch's movements stayed slightly calm his fingers twitching by his sides, he was glaring at the elevator doors, mentally willing them to open faster. Soon, meaning only thirty seconds later he started to jump from foot to foot again.  
"This is taking to long." he growled out.  
"Mitch!" The man called, though he was already left in the dust as his son ran through the doors for the stairs, only a few seconds later the elevator doors dinged their arrival, "God damn it."

* * *

Flashback

_"Al, can you tell me where Paige," he corrected himself, Ailis probably didn't even realize yet that Grammy wasn't what everyone called Paige, "Grammy, keeps the band aids in."_  
_Weakley as if it took the life out of her, Ailis raised her chubby four year old arm to point to the cabinet that was left to the sink._  
_"Thanks sweetheart."_  
_"Da-uhddy, my leg hhhurrtsss."_  
_"I know sweetie. But I'll fix you right up."_  
_"But it stings."_  
_"I'll make sure that goes away."_  
_"Ummm 'kay, daddy."_

_A few minutes later Ailis, accessorized with Kookie who was being strangled in her grip, sat atop the kitchen counter top. Crouching to be able to reach the tiny appendage, Mitch held a wet paper towel on his daughter's knee, trying to keep this process as painless as it could be._  
_"Ouch."_  
_"I'm sorry baby, only a few more seconds, and I promise you that it'll start feeling a lot better really soon."_  
_"Umm 'kay." Ailis, through her tears nodded her head ferociously; making her tiny loose curls bounce around her ears._  
_"See all done now…" he reached for the box of band aids, "which one do you want?"_  
_"What is there?"_  
_"Well," Taking out each individual one out of the box one at a time he presented them on the counter, " We have a nice flower one, a pink one, oh wow a power rangers one…."_  
_"The 'ink one!"_  
_"That's your final answer?"_  
_"Umm-hmmm."_  
_"I think that is a very good choice."_  
_"Kookie picked it."_  
_"Well than, Kookie you have a wonderful way with band aids."_  
_"You're being silly."_  
_"Well now let's just get this little guy on here and I think your knee will be as good as new."_  
_"Why are you putting that schtuff on it?"_  
_"This is so that you don't get sick."_  
_"But it's gonna hurt!"_  
_"You don't know that Al."_  
_"Yea it is!"_  
_"Why don't you close your eyes really tight, so you don't see when I'm going to put it on and it won't hurt as much."_  
_"But what if it hurts?"_  
_"You know how I go away in fall for school?"_  
_"Yea."_  
_"Well at school they taught me that this stuff doesn't hurt a bit."_  
_"Promise?"_  
_"Promise."_  
_"Pinky?"_  
_"Cross my heart." She giggled as he looked up at her face and smiled, "Al didn't I promise you it wouldn't hurt?" she looked down at her knee and a grand toothy smile grew on her face that spread to his._  
_"How 'bout we get you down from there and watch for Mom to get home."_  
_"Can we go on the swing?"_  
_"Of course."_  
_As Mitch lifted Ailis off of the counter she gave a squeal of delight as he headed towards the front porch._

* * *

Looking up from her rounds paper work at the sound of the staircase door opening, the attending nurse saw a borderline hysterical man enter the ward, "Now sir, may I help you?"  
Walking over, sides in pain from the lack of rest and breathing, Mitch gasped "Yes, I'm looking for room C173,"  
Looking down at her chart she identified the intended patient, "At the moment we're only allowing family members to be with the patient."  
"I'm her father,"  
"Her father is already with her sir,"  
A confused look came over his face but he shook it off, "No, that's her uncle, I'm her father."  
The nurse gave a strangeled smile, "I'll be right back."

* * *

Looking away from the TV as she caught movement in her peripheral vision, "I hope you know that is my jello."  
Seeley leaned back as he started to dig the plastic spoon into the yellow jello, "And I hope you know that I did a record time for running an entire football field."  
"I got stabbed by a paramedic."  
"I've been shot."  
"I know that jello is made up of ground up animal bones."  
"And I know that I enjoy munching on the ground up animal bones." As she gave him an annoyed look he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Excuse me, Mr. Booth." Seeley and Ailis looked over at the nurse.  
"Yes,"  
"Can you confirm something for me very quickly."  
Tapping the arms of the visitors chair Seeley jumped up, "Sure."  
As they walked out into the hallway, Mitch was already half way to them.  
"Seeley, is she okay?"  
"Yea, she's fine."  
"Sir you were supposed to wait over by the nurses station."  
"Um this is Ailis's father."  
"You're not her father?"  
"No, I'm her uncle."  
"You can go in sir."  
"Thanks."

* * *

"Al!"  
"Dad?" Ailis's response came out huffed as Mitch pulled her into a strange half standing half sitting bear hug.  
After a few awkward thirty seconds of holding the hug, Mitch put her at arms length to examine her appearance, "Are you okay?"  
"Yea, yea, fine." In a half hearted attempt Ailis tried to shrug off his hands though they held firm, "Just a little sedated…"  
"Did the doctor say what it was from?" He was attempting to making locking eye contact with her, though she was averting her eyes to Seeley in a silent plea for help.  
"No…He's been talking to Seeley more than me."  
He turned to Seeley but quickly returned his gaze to Ailis, "Your fine?"  
"I have an IV and pin hole, but yea, I'm fine."  
"Excuse me do you know this man?"  
"Yes, that's my father. Thanks." The nurse in annoyed tick nodded her head and sharply turned on her heel out of the room.  
"Mitchell she still would have been here if you had taken things a little slower…"  
"Well actually they were just about to wheel me off to the OR…"  
"Ailis…"  
"I'm Denis, Ailis's grandfather."  
"Seeley Booth, Paige's son."  
"Nice to meet you."  
"Dad! I'm fine. They're probably going to discharge me in a few minutes, and then I can go home."  
"They had to take you to the hospital."  
"Yes I remember I was the main subject of the course of events."  
"What ever happened was serious enough to get you to the hospital."  
"And what ever happened happened and I'm fine now. The doctor can hand me an inhaler or something and bing bang boom out of here."  
As if magically on cue the doctor entered the room though instead of being connected to the powers that be, he had gained the information that his apparently fatherless patient father had arrived in a huff via a page from the attending nurse.  
"Knock, knock…"  
"Hi Doctor Coyman."  
"Mr. Booth, I heard that more family had shown up to visit my charming patient and I thought you might be relieved knowing what's going on."  
"I'm Mitchell Deming, Ailis's father."  
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Deming and…"  
"I'm Denis Deming."  
"Double Demings." "Well from the tests that I've run and from what Ailis and the paramedics told me, I think Ailis just had a panic episode. And from what Mr. Booth has told me, I think with both the physical and emotional stress just got a moment of control."  
"Panic episode…?"  
"Commonly known as panic attacks, brief episodes of increased anxiety, hyperventilating and emotional outbursts."  
"Does this mean I get my pants back?"  
"Yes, you'll be getting your pants back."  
"Great."  
"Though there is something that I would like to talk to both the Mr. Demings and Mr. Booth about."  
"Okay apparently the patient is being kept out of the knowledge loop…"

* * *

"When looking at Ailis's records I found something that contradicts with what Mr. Deming is saying." "On the copy of the birth certificate that the hospital has, we don't have a father listed for Ailis Booth."  
"What!"  
"I told our social service officer down stairs about this situation and they advised me that before we let Mr. Deming make any consent decisions that we would run a paternity test."  
"I am Ailis's father."  
"Yes, I know that you may say that. But legally at the moment Ailis's first line of consent is Mr. Booth."  
"How fast can the paternity tests be done?"  
"I can have a nurse help you schedule an appointment for next week."  
"Next week!"  
"Where this is turning into a more legal situation than a medical one I'm going to have to let the proper authorities take over."  
"Thanks Dr. Coyman."  
"I think Ailis might want to here this last piece of news."

* * *

DUN DUN DUN! AILIS IS A JESUS BABY! fail no. just a twist. and so how was the little kid scene? showing that once upon a time Mitch and Ailis where actually you know a father-daughter pair. review!

~meg... again.


	24. Are You Okay?

_So I am beyond disappointed on how late this is. School has been hell so yea. But now its gotten better, so the next few chapters will be concentrating on Ailis more, that's what I want to focus on more instead of the investigation but it will definitely play into how the story continues. Also I know this isn't my best chapter, but you'll be getting another one within this weekend. Continue to check out the photobucket account and my tumblr. And like always review, and if anyone wants to be a really big help you could even offer to be a beta reader, I'm slightly desperate... As you can tell._

_~Meg June 18, 2011_

* * *

Walking back into the room last Doctor Coyman flipped open the pages of Ailis's chart,  
"Ailis…"  
"Yea?" She looked up from her hands that were playing around with the hospital blanket and to the crowd of men that had just reentered her room; Seeley was leaning against the row of cabinets near the shared bathroom as Mitch had rushed to claim a spot close to his daughter.  
Looking down at the papers in front of him Doctor Coyman addressed Ailis,  
"Well I think you are in fine physical shape and all you really need is a good nights rest; though I would really appreciate if you took a few days off from school." Flipping the pages back over Doctor Coyman looked at Ailis with a smile of reassurance.  
"Ummm, sure; I'm going to need a note." Ailis kept her eyes on him, avoiding the awkward stares that the three male relatives were giving her.  
"I can manage to do that; I'll have a nurse bring up your discharge papers and I think you'll be set to go."  
"Thanks." Both Mitchell and Seeley caught each other saying the same words, as well as the three other occupants in the room did, Doctor Coyman cleared his throat and covered it with an awkward smile before he backed his way out of the room.

* * *

Ailis was in the SUV again, though a little bit less hysterical than the previous time she had been in the front passenger seat. For most of the ride she had been playing with the strings attached to her running shorts or tapping different beats out with her feet. The awkwardness that had been in the room after the Doctor left didn't deflate as she hoped it would, it continued down into the elevator, and down to the entrance which led to Ailis telling Mitch that she was going to take the ride home with Seeley. She hadn't really meant to do it to see the hurt looked on Mitch's face, but that did add a little bit of victory to the moment, she had at least some control over what was happening.

Seeley slightly jumped out of his driving daze as Ailis's voice broke through the radio, "What was he telling you guys? When he brought you out of my room."  
"Just something about billing." He nodded, trying to make his lie look convincing.  
"They know me up there," He looked over in a little bit alarmed, that wasn't something that was good to hear, especially with social services were investigating Ailis's situation, "Not in the bad way. Grammy worked up there for a couple of years. They just charge it to mom's medical insurance."  
"Yea, the whole thing got complicated with the investigation."  
She swallowed, that was something she didn't want to think about at moment, or really at all, "Oh."  
"So are you feeling better?"  
That question had been thrown at her too much today, "Yea it was just an attack." Shaking her head, she tried to make the sentence come out in a very reassuring voice.  
"Yea it was just a panic attack that made you collapse and required being taken to the hospital."  
She rolled her eyes at her reflection in the dark window, "It wasn't required."  
"You couldn't breathe." With no further comment they continued on in silence.

* * *

"I know I'm her father."  
"Mitch..." Denis started, there had only been a few times that Mitch had been this angry, most of them having to involve Ailis.  
"The minute I met her I knew she was mine. Keira told me that Ailis was my daughter, Paige has never denied it and I now I can't even..." The frustration that had been building up since the revealing of the biggest surprise on earth Mitch slammed his fist into the car door.

* * *

"She went off in an ambulance!" Connor seemed to be... no he was having a complete mental breakdown.  
"Yea, but have you tried calling her?" Missy who was standing in between Teddy and Connor, for some reason Connor was blaming this whole situation on Teddy, was staying the logical one in the whole conversation.  
"Once again, ambulance!" Stepping away from Missy and Teddy, Connor walked backwards with his arms held above him.  
"She can answer a phone in a hospital." Teddy was attempting to defend himself, though of course his defense still hadn't calmed Connor down.  
"Not if she's strapped to a bed."  
"Shut up! I'm sure she's fine." Missy had it, it was really starting to piss her off that they were beating a dead horse, Ailis was in the hospital and there was nothing they could do about it.  
Connor turned "How the hell can you know that?"  
"There's a car with her in the passenger seat heading our way."  
"Missy if you're shitting me I will...AILIS!"

* * *

A mechanical shriek sounded through out the neighborhood as Seeley jammed the brakes, causing Ailis and him to fly forward and then to rock back as they hit the seat belts. Connor stood directly in their path, though once the shock of almost being hit by a federal vehicle passed through his mind, then as the feelings fazed out he redirected his path to the SUV.

* * *

"Ailis!" Connor's call sounded muffled as the window was rolled up. Though when she called to him he could hear her full tone.  
"What the hell Connor?"  
"You're fine?" He leaned into the window attempting to inspect her appearance.  
"They wouldn't..."  
He grabbed her face, pulling it closer to him so he could get a better look at her, "Are you okay? No stitches or anything?"  
"Don't worry, I'm fine."  
"She's really okay?" This was the first time Connor acknowledged the fact that Seeley was sitting in the driver's seat, Seeley was put off by the fact that Connor not only threw himself in front of his SUV, he didn't like when people did idiotic things in front of automobiles.  
Though he still responded to the question, "Perfect health."  
Now both Teddy and Missy had moved closer to the vehicle, Teddy spoke up, when he last saw Ailis she was farm from perfect health, "Perfect health besides a total freak out."  
"Really I'm fine." Ailis was glaring at Connor.  
"Okay." Nodding his head, though Seeley and Ailis could still see that he was worried.  
Seeley coughed at the awkward silence that followed, "Okay... now can we get out of the middle of the street?"  
Missy attempted at a joke, "Yea, don't want a car accident to add to all of it."

* * *

The four teens were out on the front porch, Ailis and Missy occupying the porch swing, while Connor kept his pacing up and Teddy leaned against the house.  
Still not believing Ailis, Connor turned on his heal sharply and watched Ailis as she kept a rhythm up in the swinging, "You're fine?"  
Moaning, Ailis let her head fall back, _The next time someone asks that question, I will stab someone in the face, _"How many times do I have to tell you?"  
"I just wanted to know okay." Connor had thrown his hands up in a defensive manner, abandoning his pacing as he leaned against a support beam.  
Lifting her head back up Ailis had a smile on her face, "Why can't you be as depersonalized as Missy?"  
"Because when my mom finds out, I need to bring back a full report or I'll be sleeping on the porch." Realizing that he wasn't going to leave unless she told him to Ailis stood from the swing and pulled Connor into a hug.  
"Bye Connor." Letting him go she turned to Teddy, and pulled him into a looser version of the hug she had had with Connor.  
Teddy looked down at Ailis, "I'll text you when I get out of track?"  
"Yea. Bye Teddy."  
"Bye Liss." Taking a step back she turned to Missy who had already made her way over to Connor.  
"Don't die." A smile played on her friend's lips but she knew that there was a feeling beyond concern in her eyes.  
"I'll try my hardest."  
"No I want the bestest." Ailis laughed at the breaking of the grammar nazi's code, "Now, bed."  
"Bye Missy."

* * *

_As I said before, bad. I know._


	25. Coffee is Good for the Soul

_So I'm sorry this took so long to update. This chapter, took forever to write, not because it's long but because I didn't want it to be just to stereotypical. I hope it isn't, I tried several other scenarios. I would love reviews on how it's playing out._

_Thanks!_

_~Meg_

* * *

Not being followed in by the four teenagers, Seeley pulled his phone out this being one of the only times he was by himself that day. The LED screen lighting up his face, he had 20 missed calls. _If I didn't answer the first time what made you think that I would answer the second time or the third or the thirtieth?_Pressing the OK button he saw who had been calling him obsessively throughout the day; 16 Bones, 2 Jared, 1 Cam, 1 Hodgins. Sighing he highlighted Jared and pressed dial.

After hearing the dial tone break he waited for the "Hello?"  
"Seeley..." Through the receiver he could hear Jared take a thick sip of what most likely was a beer, "Hi."  
"You called me?"  
"That was me." _Well no Jared it was the gnomes._  
"I know Jared, you've left me messages." He wasn't going to be patient with him, "Are you okay?"  
"Yea just been... thinking."  
Seeley pinched the bridge of his nose as he fell back into the sofa, "Where are you?"  
"At home." Jared said this as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
"How long have you been there?"

There was rustling and a crash before Seeley got an answer, "Ummm... a while."  
Before he could respond Seeley jumped as the front door squeaked open with Ailis attempting to make as little noise as possible. There was a brief moment of eye contact but she broke it when she went to navigate her way through the living room.

"Please tell me that you'll stay there until I come over?"  
On the other side of the line Jared let out a groan, "When are you coming?"  
"I'll probably be an hour, two tops." Ailis who was about to start up the stairs stopped on the bottom step eying Seeley.  
"Okay."  
Hearing another slurp Seeley let out a sigh "Just, watch TV and try to stop drinking." He hit end and looked back over to the stairs, though Ailis was stomping up the last few steps.

* * *

Blinking her eyes, she watched as her pupils grew and shrank as she adjusted the bathroom's light, she had been occupying the upstairs bathroom for ten minutes, avoiding going downstairs for as long as she could. _He_ was down there. And of course _he_ was going to be making a move on her emotions again. And that was something that _she_just didn't want to deal with at the moment, or really at any time in the near future. Ailis overheard both Seeley and Mitch's attempt at small talk for most of the time though it always reverted back to a heavy silence.

Ailis jumped when she heard Mitch's voice after a few minutes, causing her to jab herself in the eye.  
"I have to make a call." She could hear as he pushed back a dining room chair and stepped out onto the front porch. Now was her moment to strike. Quickly padding down the stairs, skipping the sixth step from the top to avoid creating a stressed creak Ailis made her descent to the living room.

Seeley was leaning against the counter next to the fridge staring off into a dark corner of the dining room. Maneuvering her way by the coffee table in the dim room, her shadow caught Seeley's attention; he looked up to watch her move past him to grab a bag of coffee grounds from the top of the fridge.

Ailis went through a normal coffee routine, moving around the kitchen with the learned steps; moving to a shelf to grab a coffee filter, then to cabinet to grab a spoon and then finally over to the sink which she grabbed an almost dry mug from a drying rack next to the sink, "Do you think it's okay to drink like four cups of coffee to fight off the sedative side affects?"

"It's probably not the best thing in the world to do." Both of Ailis and Seeley jumped as Mitch's voice came from the front door.

Ignoring the comment Ailis went through the motions of preparing the coffee machine, "Eh."

Now that Seeley knew that someone was going to be at the house with Ailis he was going to make his exit,

"Ailis?" Glancing over her shoulder she signaled that she was listening, "I'm going over to check on Jared for a few hours, I'll be back tomorrow."

Only for a moment did she stop her coffee making, "Okay." Ailis nodded, concentrating on the coffee filter instead of Mitch who had moved and now was sitting down at the dining room table chair that was directly across from her.

Stepping over to her Seeley gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder, "Feel better kiddo."

"Thanks."

For the three minutes that Seeley had been gone, neither father nor daughter broke the silence.

"Al can we talk for a couple of minutes?"

"Well..." she didn't look up from her empty cup, the coffee was dripping into the pot at a steady pace but it still haven't given enough so that it would be a decent cup.

"Talking meaning that you give me more than one word answers." She looked up, even though her face was covered by a shadow Mitch knew she was sending him a death stare. With the preparation for the coffee over, Ailis idly began to put silverware from the drying rack away, trying to avoid looking at Mitch, "Mum's officially dead, Grammy has one foot in the grave and yea."

Releasing a sigh Mitch stood up from his chair, "I need to know what's going on in your head."

"I thought you were a lawyer not some shrink."

Within a second he was standing in front of Ailis, blocking her from going escaping the kitchen, "If you didn't realize it, I was scared out of my mind when Seeley told me you were in the hospital."

Refusing to look at him she attempted to move around him, "That's touching." He intercepted.

"Ailis. Please, I really need to know what's going on with you. I'm worried. Yesterday when I saw you upstairs..."

"Oh the crying thing. Yea, usually in situation like this or anywhere near this, people cry. It's a normal human response." This was when she looked up at him, he wanted to say that he saw her attitude starting to weaken, but he could see the wall building up.

"Jesus," He looked away, as if the wall was going to whisper him the magical words that would open her up, though without him watching Ailis had walked over to the armchair, trying to seclude herself, "Ailis I need you to... I want you to talk to me. I'm beyond worried..."

Twisting her head up she gave him a relaxed and casual answer, "With all the shit that is going on I'm okay. The only thing that really is bugging me at the moment is that fact that someone is hounding me about how I'm feeling."

She couldn't tell if he doubted her words or just didn't understand the lengthy smart ass reply, "When I say I'm fine I mean it, I'm fine."

Mitch knew what she was trying to get with sitting in the arm chair, distance, well instead of playing into the game he sat down on the coffee table. Realizing she wasn't going to shake him that easily she decided it was time to hit the soft spot.

Picking at her cuticles in what seemed frustration, Ailis didn't look over at Mitch with what she was sure was going to end this _conversation_, "Did you just come because you felt guilty or something?"

"What?" With Mitch's voice going up about three pitches, she decided now would be a great time to finish her rant up and then get her coffee, _this might keep him quiet for a few hours_.

"Really did someone have to call you up with a desperate plea to keep the family reputation up, so you came down?" She smiled up at him, "Because thinking of what a parent would do in a situation like this is that they would never have to take a plane to get to their kid. Really even my long lost uncle didn't have to wait in traffic to come find me!" Awkwardly shuffling by Mitch's torso Ailis started to walk to the kitchen with a little more, actually a lot more pip in her step.

"Just…" Realizing that he had been standing in the same spot for about two minutes, Mitch turned to the direction Ailis had gone off in,"You can't bring that in…"

She wasn't supposed to respond to that, she was supposed to just let her side of the conversation end there, but her mouth felt that more needed to be said, the mug that she had been cradling in her hands was slammed down in , "Fuck yea I can bring the fact that my own father lives over four hundred miles from me into this, that's the thing that makes this whole situation bull shit. If you really cared you wouldn't live in Boston. You wouldn't have created a whole fucking new family. You wouldn't send me my birthday gifts you would actually hand it to Me."

"Gosh! You really think you can just waltz in and play the dad that I go and run to?" _That wasn't supposed to leave my mouth... _

Mitch, had never heard the amount of hysteria in Ailis's voice before, walking slowly towards her, he had his hands up in a passive manner, "Al this is why we need to talk. I never wanted to …"

"To what, make the decision to live in a whole different part of the country? When you had the opportunity to live near your first kid?" She was looking at him straight on now; they both knew that she had lost control of herself. Ailis didn't show any other feelings in fights except anger, it was always anger and sarcasm, there was more to this though, it was hurt.

He was now five feet away from her, she had backed her way against the fridge as Mitch had been edging closer, he didn't really have a plan on how to make the situation any better, but maybe the wing it option would work, "If I could go back…"

"You can't now. Everything has been fucked over and now you're just..." Seeing that he was in arms length of her, she made a move for Grammy's bedroom door, though Mitch gripped her wrist and attempted to pull her into a hug, "Fuck it. Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it…" She didn't wanted to be touched or comforted by him, Ailis ripped her arm way and in an almost deathly calm voice she instructed him, "Go home."

* * *

_So I wanted to use this to show that Ailis isn't just being emotional and mean because all the things that happened, she has this ongoing feud with Mitch, and even when he's trying to help she manipulates it so that she can start a fight. I wanted this to be kind of like when Jared manipulates Seeley into the saving big brother role._  
_I also don't know how well I produced the fight between Ailis and Mitch, I'm horrible at describing a fight in words, because I can see it perfectly playing out in my head, but the transfer to paper is so HARD. So please tell me how you think it went, and also I'm going to be touching up on some of the earlier chapters._

_Also, any one recently watching the show or checking the Bones wiki and then looking at Seeley's family side you'll see that now there is a Julie Booth. I'm seriously writing a letter, I was inspired to write this after my uncle died. A YEAR AGO. Check my tumblr to see my gif story on how my revenge will be sought._

_I'm going to try to start a chapter before I go away on vacation for two weeks._


	26. An Author's Epiphany and Laziness

After not writing for like ever…. I have decided that I need to involved Bones being pregnant, had a really long talk with a fellow bones fan and they said it would help later on in the plot so now I'm basically just going through all the chapters and updating/editing them so that Bones is preggo.

Yes I did use preggo instead of pregnant.

I'm that lazy.

~Meg


	27. A Good Reason

Late Christmas present! I'm really sorry but life has been really stressful and hectic and for some reason every time I've sat down to write nothing comes out. Here you go! And, as always, read and review!

-Meg

* * *

The TV was on giving an eerie glow to the living room; it had been hours since she had stormed upstairs away from her father, though she wasn't sure that he had gotten the message and locked the door to her mother's bedroom where she had been holding up in. Now she was sitting at the top of the stairs, trying to asses if he was still awake. The bluish glow that came with the early morning only helped create the shadows, not making his face any clearer. It had been twenty or so minutes since he had last changed the channel and the previous TV program had morphed into the 700 club, and she knew that anyone in their right mind would not be able to sit through more than five minutes of it.

"Now or never." Standing from her crouched position her knees seemed to make the most obnoxious popping sounds possible, Ailis cringed, and she couldn't remember how deep of a sleeper he was. She waited for any form of response from Mitch before she let herself creep down a few steps.

There was still no sign of consciousness from him,_ Maybe I can get through this without any human interaction._

"You've always been really bad at trying to sneak down."  
"Fuck." she didn't know if her best chances were to run back upstairs, locking the door to her room and receiving meals and messages through the window and somehow successfully avoid this situation for the rest of her life or just awkwardly not deal with it by ignoring him.

"Hello?" Even though it had been years since he had last watched Ailis in the house he still knew the telltale signs that she was out of bed, a creak that only one of the steps made when you stood on it too long, a darkening of the shadows coming down from the staircase; craning his neck over the back of the couch Mitch could catch her form on the stairs, waiting to see what he was going to do.

There was a thick pause before she spoke, "Why haven't you left yet?"  
He sighed, letting his head rest on the back of the couch and his eyes rest on the ceiling, "Ailis, you and I both know you're horrible at playing dumb." Even though he couldn't see her, she still looked away with a bit of guilt; she could only play the bitch card so much.  
"If you don't want to talk about it, we won't. I just want to see you." There was another pause, Ailis was trying to see what his facial expression was in any reflective surface, she couldn't tell if he was being honest.

A few moments passed before there was another identifiable creak on the stairs; Mitch was letting them tell him if Ailis was coming down or not, his eyes floated back down to the TV screen, even though he was, he didn't want to seem expectant.

Her avoidance wasn't new, when he had first met her she had interrupted an argument that was mounting between Keira and him, the combination of his yelling and aggressive behavior had put a barrier between the two that took weeks for him to break down.

"Keira!"

"Mitch you need to leave!"  
"Not until you give me an answer."  
After a moment of crossing and then crossing her arms Keira replied, "Yes."  
It didn't take long for him to erupt, "For four years you kept me away from my own daughter?"  
"Mitch, you need to keep it down."  
"You knew, when we broke up, you knew that you were going to have her," he turned his back to her and paced between the dining room table and the front door, though her turned back to her after a frustrated sigh, "God Keira, you know I would have stayed."  
"Would have, Mitch."  
"Keira you know I would have loved to stay, for both of you, God, why would I be here now? I want to meet her. I regret not looking for you, asking you, bugging you why you wanted to break up. I would have loved to watch her grow up."  
"It wouldn't have been fair."  
"What do you mean not fair?"  
"God, you're a genius, you got into three top school's pre-law programs. Mitch I couldn't stop you from doing that."  
"Doing what?"  
"Getting somewhere with your life. Away from here. Do you really think if you had stayed around here that you would still be in school? Do you think you would have the chance to get where you are?"  
"Kiera, that's just school and achievements. This is my daughter, my family..." he swallowed, "Our family."  
"Momma?" called a tiny voice, Keira and Mitch paused their argument, Mitch's gaze traveled from red faced Keira to a small body with a mop of hair and two big blue eyes that were peering through the slats of the stair's banister. Ailis, who was swimming in the material of one of Keria's old track shirts, looked between the two adults. The man from the park was here and yelling at her Momma, she had only heard Grammy and Momma yell like that a few times, like when she had run into the street they had gotten loud. They said that they got loud because they were scared.

"Momma? Are you scared?"

That was the first time that he heard the top stair creak, when Ailis rushed her short legs down the stairs in a left-right pattern and then over to Keira's legs, brushing past Mitch with a swoosh of wind.  
Keira bent down and lifted Ailis to sit on her hip; she looked down at her daughter, brushing a few strands of unruly hair out of her face to see her eyes, "No alligator, I'm not scared."  
Ailis turned to look back at Mitch once more before returning her attention to Keira, she took a long look into her eyes, "Are you scared?"  
"No baby." This wasn't enough evidence for Ailis though.  
"Are you sad?"  
Keira gave a big smile, hiding the guilt that she felt over this whole situation between Mitch and Ailis, and pecked her on the cheeks and forehead, making Ailis squeal, "I can't be sad when I'm around you alligator."  
Then leaning in Ailis cupped her hands around Keira's ear, "Who's he?" came out in a strained version of the little voice, it didn't take much effort for Mitch to catch it.  
Keira readjusted Ailis on her hip and looked between the daughter and her father, "This is my friend, Mitch."  
For a three year old, Ailis gave a hard look at Mitch before turning back to Keira, "Did he make you sad?"  
"Alligator, momma's not sad."  
"Okay." Ailis nodded her head but still kept her eyes on Mitch.  
"Why you up baby?" Somehow Ailis in a matter of a few minutes had managed to get her hair frizzy again; Keira looked down at her and petted the hair back into place.  
Ailis laid her head in the crook of Keira's shoulder, still managing to keep her eyes on Mitch, lazily she replied with a finger pointing to her ear.  
"Your ear hurting again?"  
Ailis's head nodded on her shoulder.  
"I'll give you some medicine and I'll put you back upstairs."  
"Em 'kay," though she was awake enough to carry out a conversation, sleep had started to glaze over Ailis's eyes again. Keira, in what seemed to be in perfect sync, carried Ailis over to the kitchen counter and started to rummage through the cabinets before returning to Ailis with a tea-spoon full of a purplish substance. Ailis made a face that Mitch couldn't help but laugh at; she stuck out her tongue and grabbed her nose, squeezing her fingers tight she was attempting to keep herself from tasting the medicine.  
As Keira took Ailis back into her arms again, she walked past Mitch, "Tomorrow morning, 9 am, I-HOP."  
He watched Keira who carried a drifting Ailis upstairs before he started to for the front door. He was getting what he wanted. His daughter.  
Upstairs, Ailis who had pulled Keira into bed with her was snuggled into Keira's side. She was settled with a light blanket and her loyal stuffed pal Kookie crooked into her arm, though she felt something was off. Rolling herself onto Keira's knees, not the most comfortable position for either of them, she leaned in and kissed Keira's nose.  
"Don't be sad, Momma."  
"Thanks, alligator."

"Could you turn it down?"  
Ailis had watched him revert to flash back mode as he continued to watch the TV screen and she had wanted to use it to her advantage, walking slowly past the TV she made her way over to the kitchen, successfully stubbing her toe into the coffee table in the process.  
"Yea, yeah, sorry."

* * *

Parking in the space next to his brother's motorcycle, Seeley crossed his arms and rested his head on his forearms. It wasn't as if he had left Ailis and Mitch late, maybe everything was finally catching up with him.  
"Hey Seeley!" Seeley looked up to see his brother give him a drunken wave, loosing his balance in the process and stumbling in as he attempted to hold onto something solid. Out of his zone it took him a moment to realize the danger that his brother had put himself in, he couldn't find the patience in him to respond without annoyance clear in his voice.  
"Jared, get inside now!"  
"Come on it's a beautiful night!"  
"Get inside so you can open the door for me." Jared looked over his shoulder, his eyes attempting to focus in the dull light coming from the living room. After a moment he swayed as he set himself for his journey, in frustration two stories below Seeley pinched the bridge of his nose, too many complicated situations were happening at once.

Exiting the elevator he entered the hall Jared's apartment was on, quickly identifying which apartment was his by the open door. His hands tensed at his sides, he honestly didn't need this at the moment, he needed a good night's sleep in his own bed, a break, a beer maybe; he put more authority into his steps as he made his way down the hallway. A crash from inside the apartment quickened his pace.  
Jared was sitting in his kitchen floor, "So, first Dad and now she comes back." Seeley jumped when he heard his voice.  
Closing the door behind him, Seeley walked over his brother's legs, making his way through the mess of his kitchen to sit on a bar stool, "You can't just call Mom, she."  
"How can you call her your mother? She left us. It never even occurred to her to take us with her."  
The hand that Seely laid on the table tensed into a fist, "That isn't the reason."  
"What, you think she would have come back for us?"  
He sighed, getting angry with a drunk Jared wasn't going to get the point across to him, "She wanted to."  
"You never left, you and pops, even Dad didn't leave."  
"She had a good reason to leave."  
"She had a good reason to stay too."


End file.
